To paint or to stain?

Try out both on a test peice (the same kind of woods) and let your wife decide.

It will give her an idea of what it will look like and get you off the hook.

-- Hope Never fails

The only problem with staining it is that poplar and birch plywood are usually pretty different looking as far as grain goes, and they will accept the stain differently…. possibly even exaggerating those differences. Still, us woodworkers love the look of wood, so stain always has a leg up on paint. :-)

If you do decide to stain with a water-based product, be sure and follow the directions to use a conditioner first to minimize grain raising. Also keep it mind that a dark stain will require more than one application, in all likelihood, to achieve the look you are seeking.

If it comes out looking awful, you can always go back and paint it.

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

Ditto!! What Mario said. One thing I know is that popular doesn’t take stain good at all- no matter what you use, in my experience. I’d probably paint the whole thing and be done with it. Just my .002 cents.

-- Remember--- one good turn-- gets most of the blanket!!!!

I agree with Rick. Anything I make that consists of poplar, birch or pine goes right to priming after the glue dries.

I agree with you on trying your hand with inexpensive woods to get acquainted with the woodworking processes, I would just hate for you to get frustrated when it comes to the finishing. Poplar can get ungly when it tries to accept stain. Finishing is an art for sure and there are woods that thrive under stain/oils and those that don’t.

Keep in mind that a 16 month old son quickly turns into a toy-wielding furniture banging boy in no time flat. Touching up small dings with left-over paint sure helps keep you sane.

... and that’s my two cents.

-- Measure, cut, curse, repeat.

I don’t think you will happy with the results if you use stain but guess what? If you or your wife (main decision maker) don’t like the stain you can always paint over the stain. Just be sure to put a good sealer/primer over the stain before you apply the paint. Also be careful with the stain if you don’t want the inside of the drawers stained or painted. You can use masking tape or pre-finish the insides of the drawers with a clear varathane to protect them. I prefer water base varathane and sand lightly (320 sand paper) between two or three coats for a smooth finish.

-- Les B, Oregon

I agree that poplar is lousy to stain. Like was said earlier, try it out on scrap wood to see how it looks. You will likely see for yourself (and the wife) that the poplar isn’t good for staining and, like Charlie said, the two woods will look different.

-- Gary, DeKalb Texas

Thanks for the quick reponse. It looks like ill be painting the chest but I’ll try to stain on some scraps, which I have a lot of :) first to see how it turns out. I know from reading multiple articles that poplar does not stain as easily as other woods but I thought I would ask as I do want the chest to look like it was build out of wood and not some cheap painted particle board material. Anyways I’ll post the finished result as soon as I am finished with it..

Good luck I agree given your experience and type of wood paints a good choice

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon

I’d first brush on a gel stain, slightly thinned. But don’t wipe it off. The effect is a covering akin to paint yet allowing some if the wood character to come through…controlled by you. It’s a good way. You can even get fancy with some artifical graining techniques, if you like. It’s the same technique you use to “stain” a fiberglass or metal door to look like wood.

Seal with some good poly afterwards…kids are rough on furniture.

-- jay, www.allaboutastro.com

I built a 2 projects this passed summer out of birch and poplar and stained them with GF espresso. I think they came out pretty nice, check them out in my projects.

Don’t forget about milk paint. It allows the grain and texture of the wood to show through when applied as it soaks in rather than sits on top like regular paint. Just be sure and use a water base sealer to protect it. Expect the colors to deepen when sealed.

-- Beth, Oklahoma, Rambling Road Designs

I’m presently building some stacking shelves made from poplar as an experiment to see how they would look using a dark dye followed by polyu.

I used Transtint dye (mixed with water), and it is going to look good. The dye evens out the white and greenish colors of the poplar.

I’ll probably not do it again though, because it was a lot more work than I expected. Maybe it’s just me but poplar seems to fuzz more than walnut, cherry, oak, etc. And, even though I raised the grain and sanded it down before dyeing it, the dye raised the grain again, and when I sanded it down again, that caused the color to lighten which required more dye, then the grain raised again—- you get the picture?

I’m now applying the 2nd coat of polyu which I hope is the last.

In the unlikely event I build anything from poplar again – it will be painted.

-- Joe

I told you,Joe. Always paint poplar. Poplar sucks when it comes to any kind of finish. Black is a good color!!

-- Remember--- one good turn-- gets most of the blanket!!!!

LOL Rick – why didn’t you tell me before I bought this wood about 2 months ago ;)

-- Joe