Finish Question

Any idea of what wood you are working with? Is this plywood? Hardwood?Pine? ??? We are in the dark here. How about a picture or two or three?

If you are spraying, you might consider toning rather than trying to get a stain to match on wood and filler.

-- Paul M ..............If God wanted us to have fiberglass boats he would have given us fiberglass trees. http://prmdesigns.com/

shipwright – good idea! i’ll look into that…

lilredweldingrod – sorry, i’m a little in the dark here myself. as it was just wood from an old bed frame – that wasn’t even mine originally, i have no idea what kind of wood i’m working with. my thoughts are that it is either pine or fir or some variation thereof…

-- -Angela, "Christos Anesti!"

Since the wood and filler absorb at differing rates, there’s always the risk that using a stain will yield unsatisfactory results.

To play it safe, I like to sealcoat it and then tone it like shipwright mentioned. You can then control the amount of color without it being absorbed into the wood (and filler). Whereas you obscure the grain in this way, that’s not always a bad thing. It’s a good technique for cabinetry, whereas you can keep a subtle appearance of the wood grain and yet get the color you want. After toning, you can then glaze to add depth or effects to the work.

If you stain, then you can always touch-up the filler spots (sealed it) to match the stain. Then, when you top-coat it, nobody is the wiser for it.

But I like toning it, especially when dealing with projects with reclaimed wood or mixtures of plywood and hardwood. Color is much easier that way.

-- jay, www.allaboutastro.com

Thanks Cosmicsniper! Great info, I didn’t think about the sealcoat idea. I think I may just try doing it this way. Thanks a lot!

-- -Angela, "Christos Anesti!"

i have used this Clear Sealcoat (shellac) – Stain – Poly approach with one of my first cabinets that ended up containing three kinds of wood. Stained it oak as most of the project was red oak and the results were excellent I see that cabinet every day and am amazed it worked. There was even some wood filler in the corners that turned out ok. Good luck with it.

-- Ron, Aptos, CA