You're probably going to hate me but just remenber,it's all opinion based on shetchy info at best. Regardless how old the donor house was that cabinet might not be origional. Or is origional but made from low quility wood. And judging from the pic,2 or 3 different spicies wood. Some parts hint at being poplar. Poplar was used extensivly(still is) for low cost furniture. Poplar was the 19th century's presswood. Poplar sands and stains about like pressed board ( grow's wiskers".) If it were me I would build a custom cabinet to fit the hole or find another cabinet and alter the hole.

I'm afraid I'm with klem on this one, it's never going to look great. Paint it or make a new one out of something nicer.

If I had to refinish it clear, based on what I can see, I'd think seriously about taking it apart and planing the show surfaces flat, smooth, and uniform, reassembling with some fiddling to get the joinery tight again, and then finishing. By then it would have been easier to make a new one out of maple or cherry.

You can deal with the fuzzies by applying a coat of finish prior to sanding. Soak in some shellac or polyurethane varnish, let it dry hard, then sand. The wood is coming apart as you sand and you need to give it a little more structural strength to get a smooth surface.

Yeah, I think that is a fair assessment of the cabinets construction. I believe it to be original and it fits the era of my house based on other construction I have seen in the area. I knew it wasn't going to be mahogany or something, but I didn't think it would be quite this bad.

Another option would be to paint it.

I guess you've made me feel better that maybe this is the best it is going to get (except that stupid wood filler residue spot!)

Poplar fuzzes up when sanded, if you finish the surfaces with a sharp hand plane, it can finish rather nicely.
Casey

"Poplar fuzzes up when sanded, if you finish the surfaces with a sharp hand plane, it can finish rather nicely.
Casey"

100% agree and I believe to be so very relivent to this conversation. An experienced finisher can actually do great things with popular. Despite the unflatering things I said,poplar is a blank canvas that can be made into impressive imposters of finer wood. Cherry is the first which come's to mind. Why didn't I tell op how? Because I sweat blood while "TRYING" and simply feel incapible of instructing another. You might be amazed to know how many times a piece of poplar passed right beneath your nose masqurading as walnut. I've possibly dug myself into a hole so let me attempt digging my self back out. Poplar isn't used to decieve anyone,it's used because for the task at hand,it is better than the more expensive and beautful wood used other places in the project. As hardwoods increasingly demonstarte interesting grain boards are brittle ,wandering grain make's a plane or bit take off in unintended directions or otherwise make it difficult to machine as desired. 75% of poplar milled is perfect for constructing. In the remaining 25%,much is interesting enough to be sat aside for special purposes. Probibly less waste than most other species,resulting in low cost. If you pull out and set aside drawers from mid-quility furniture from late 19th century to present,you will see a lot of poplar inside humbly forming the foundation for it's pretty counterparts without twisting or sagging over the past 100 years. Hee hee hee,that sound's similar to the ruse I used in scareing other boys off Wolverton mountain long enough to grab Clifton Clowers' pretty young daughter for my self.

being new kid on the block allow me to kiss up and agree to all. ( i really do agree)

some thoughts i have on your "gettin' schooled".
the fuzzed wood needs to be hardened . you can do this with a coat or two of shelac . sand lightly after it dries throughly.

staining it to look better than poplar (not hard to do) is a three step process.
you'll need to condition the wood with wood conditioner.

the two different stain colors are up to you, but you need to apply a lighter color, ultra penetrating stain first while the conditioner is still wet. use a rag and rub the color into the wood. keep a look out for uneven penetration and sneak up on the depth and intensity of the color, remember , you can always put more on. that's your background color.

put a darker color oil base stain on after it drys. again sneak up on the color. you need to discover how dark it's getting before it's too late, so don't leave it on too long. when you've gotten the results you're looking for make sure you get the proper ohhs and ahhs from the right people.

poplar is a greenish yellow wood at best and a skid mark brown any other time. so if you're looking for say, a walnut color , start off with maybe a burnt umber. (it helps neutralize the green) once you're finished with the back ground ,experiment with stains to get the wood color you're looking for. hope it helps. mail me with any questions.

Thanks all for the continued advice. Have to say at this point I am feeling more overwhelmed about testing out techniques I am not experienced with an an irreplaceable item, than I am about giving it a showroom finish. I will settle for passable.

There is so much to learn, it is really remarkable. I am hoping when this cabinet is over I can do a non-essential item, just to try out the stuff you are suggesting.

I've kind of let the project sit, but I know ignoring it won't refinish it. So maybe with the holiday weekend I will get some time in the garage to give it another go. Will post how it turns out.

Kats,how much better were you expecting than an offer like jeff"s to guide you one on one?

I appreciate the tutorial, but I'm nervous about the subjectivity about the color 'sneaking up' on me or getting 'too dark'. Because then if I've muddled it up, I've got to strip and sand again, which I am about at my wits' end on.

It's wood.
I'll never understand peoples need to make different pieces of wood be exactly the same color as another.
Diversity is beauty to me.
I can understand the nail hole standing out but you can always dig out the filler you used and fill it again with a colored filler that matches better.
Fuzz?
Layers of finish and sanding with finer and finer grits should take care of this issue.

kats737... sometimes i can be a drama queen, and can over complicate things.(like your project.) it's a very simple job.
if you go too dark with the oil stain, you wipe it down with mineral spirits and try again. no striping.

the first color you can put on in the dark. just put it on evenly and mop up the puddles.
the oil stain that comes last is just as easy. put it on and wipe it off after a couple of mins. not dark enough? put on more stain . repeat as often as needed till it's right.
finish this project and you'll wonder what all the fuss was about. promise.

Okay, so 4 months later, I am finally done. Thanks to you guys who said keep at it. Our bathroom is nowhere near done, but I am so glad that I chipped away. I wasn't brave enough to try anything too fancy, but I did slather that whole lower shelf area with wood filler, and sand it all down. And a stain marker helped immensely in some spots that I could even it all up.

As a reminder, here is the before:

And the after: