Cabinet Finishing Tips

[blueguitar]

Hi all

I'm in the process of building my first cabinet. I have done a few wood projects before (with mixed results), but I have never worked with pine or any other really soft wood. My cabinet is pine with a mahogany strip down the center. I have read reciently that pine does not take stain well - problems with blotching. Just wondering if anyone has had this experience, or what others would suggest for finishing the cabinet.

Thanks in advance!

[Jazz P Bass]

If you plan on staining it is usually advised to use a wood conditioner first so that it doesn't stain blotchy or uneven.

[Tom Phillips]

If you plan on staining it is usually advised to use a wood conditioner first so that it doesn't stain blotchy or uneven.

And I have found that you need to use a lot more conditioner than listed per the instructions. I did a whole house worth of pine doors, windows and various trim. The best procedure turned out to be to saturate the pine with the conditioner and keep it saturated for 30 minutes, wipe off the excess (not much left) then wipe on the stain with a rag until the desired look is achieved. Start light. You can always wipe on a little more if needed. Even with conditioner it is risky to brush on the stain, let is sit and then wipe off the excess because there can still be areas in the same piece of wood that soak up the stain much more than other areas. With the wipe on method you can adjust as you go. Any end grain needs very special care or it will get really dark. The end grain needs to be finely sanded / almost polished and the stain applied very lightly.

Cheers,
Tom

[blueguitar]

Thanks for the tips guys. I had read about using wood conditioner, but I've heard that it doesn't actually work that well. Maybe the guys I talked to didn't let it sit long enough or use enough. I've also heard that a gel based stain instead of an oil based stain works well for soft woods.

I was wondering if anyone has had success with a finishing technique other than stain for a pine cabinet.

Also wondering about the various finishing coats that people have tried such as polyurethane or varnish or wax, etc.

Thanks again.

[blueguitar]

. Any end grain needs very special care or it will get really dark. The end grain needs to be finely sanded / almost polished and the stain applied very lightly.

Cheers,
Tom

Having the end grain go quite dark may look quite nice with the finger joints

[Tom Phillips]

Having the end grain go quite dark may look quite nice with the finger joints

Agreed. Maybe some test samples are in order.
You can also consider just a polyurethane seal coat and then let the pine naturally darken age. Also, some people like the classic look of a shellac finish.

[mac dillard]

I am getting ready to try some TransTint Wood Dye on a head cab. Will be my first go at the wood dyes. Anyone tried these water based dyes instead of stain?

[blueguitar]

I am getting ready to try some TransTint Wood Dye on a head cab. Will be my first go at the wood dyes. Anyone tried these water based dyes instead of stain?

What wood did you use for the head?

[mac dillard]

This one is built out of 1/2" Baltic Birch plywood. I needed it to be as light as possible. Normally I just use 1" pine. Most of the time I tolex them. The tolex hides a lot of wood faults.

[blueguitar]

I doubt you would have any problem with the dye on Baltic Birch. I've never tried them myself, but I've heard/read that they are pretty easy to apply. If you try it, post some pics and let us know.

[mac dillard]

Finished the cab using the transtint dye. Turned out pretty good. Have to remember that the dye will be translucent and you will see the wood grain. One thing that I really liked was that you can control the shade by how you mixed the dye. Going to try to link to photos. Never posted a photo before. hope it works.

[Tom Phillips]

Nice! Thanks for posting the results. Might be interesting to do a test to determine if the dye will bleed onto a surface oit comes in contact with. Especially some thing like damp cloth or upholstery. I say this because something similar just happened to me today. A satin clear coat could prevent that it you think it could be a problem.
Cheers,
Tom

[mac dillard]

Thanks for the heads up Tom. Actually the cab has 12 coats of Polyacrylic on it. From working with the dye I would say that it would for sure bleed if you don't seal it with a top coat. Other issue is that the finish will tend to be blotchy were some of the wood takes more of the dye that other spots..Wood conditioner might help this..I kind of like the blotchy look .

[Tom Phillips]

Thanks for the heads up Tom. Actually the cab has 12 coats of Polyacrylic on it...

Wow! 12 coats should do it!

...Other issue is that the finish will tend to be blotchy were some of the wood takes more of the dye that other spots..Wood conditioner might help this..I kind of like the blotchy look .

All the times I used wood conditioner it was petroleum based product. I don't know if there is even a product available that would work with water based dye.

[blueguitar]

That looks great Mac. I see what you mean by the blotching. I didn't think that Birch would bloch too bad (not that it's really noticable) and you're right, it does look good.

What would happen if you used a petroleum based conditioner with a water based dye? The conditioner just sinks in and keeps the dye from penetrating doesn't it?

I wonder if you could avoid blotching by mixing the dye really like and doing a few coats, and then getting darker with successive coats...