# Finishing a Maple Crib



## Peteyb (May 28, 2011)

Here is a crib that I have made for are next little one.









I am also making a matching changing table again out of hard maple. My question is if I am to stain it a chestnut color to match the first one I built out of Oak. What do I have to do to make sure it takes the stain?

My second question is that if I want to leave and just put a finish on it to keep the natural color what works the best?

I do have a Earlex HV5500 HVLP spray station to help me out with the process to or should I finish it with a brush?

Side note the first one I stained it with miniwax chestnut with a brush and then used spray on poly to finish it. I know that I don't want to use the canned spray on poly again as I don't like how it worked on the project.


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## Peteyb (May 28, 2011)

Ok. So I got some blonde shellac and thinking that if I lay that down first I should be able to stain it. If I am going for the same color as I did the first one it was a minwax chestnut color, but researching I have found out that might not work as it will not dry fast enough and could look blotchy. I looked around and thinking about using Behlen Solar-Lux Stain, Medium Brown Mahogany.

I am thinking that I should be able to spray the shellac on with the Earlex HV5550 but think that I will have to rub on the Behlen Solar-Lux Stain.

Last question is when I am finished with that what should I put on it to keep safe as in a polyurethane or something like that.


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## Earlextech (Jan 13, 2011)

A brush?!?

Give me a second to recover.

Alright, first, spray everything including the stain, it will be faster, easier and will give you an even coat all around. Of course it will spray shellac, you should seal with Seal Coat, straight out of the can or thinned however you choose. Top coat with poly because babies are messy and poly is easy to clean.

For really professional looking finishes you will have to move on from Minwax.


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

Very clean looking work. Congratulations.

helluvawreck aka Charles
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com


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## redSLED (Mar 21, 2013)

Good luck with staining maple with anything medium dark or darker - very tight grain. Stain job may come out 'muddy' - guaranteed with big box store popular brands. Be sure to search 'dye stain' with respect to hardwoods on this forum if the subject is new to you. At the very least do some test sample staining first.

Nothing wrong with staining with a brush. Of course clear coating by spray is faster - but a bit thinner than by brush, but maybe OK for a crib.

Personally I love maple in its glorious natural colour. Beautiful crib by the way.


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## Finisherman (May 3, 2013)

I agree with Earlextech in that spraying is definitely the way to go, especially if you already have an HVLP system. Behlen Solar-Lux should do an excellent job in staining this piece, especially if you spray it. I wouldn't bother with Minwax, or any other type of pigmented stain when you're trying to stain maple. The grain is just too tight to accept much in the way of pigments. As for the top coat, shellac might be a surprisingly good candidate. Shellac is one of the few finishes which is actually edible. When sprayed onto candies, shellac is known as confectioner's glaze. This means that when it's dry, the shellac is perfectly safe for your little one to gnaw on. The bad news is that shellac isn't as durable as polyurethane. The good news is that it is much easier to repair than polyurethane when it gets damaged. Just sand the surface a little bit and apply another coat of shellac. Nitrocellulose lacquer might also work well here. It's more durable than shellac, while being almost as easy to repair.


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## Willeh (Dec 30, 2011)

I've had a great deal of success coloring maple with Aniline Dye… may want to give that a go? Lee Valley has some pretty good ones.


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## Peteyb (May 28, 2011)

How long do I have to wait for shellac to dry before I can put a some behlen solar-lux stain on? Should I also sand the shellac down before I put the stain on? If so what sand paper should I use?


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## Finisherman (May 3, 2013)

You don't need to apply the shellac before the solar-lux, unless the wood is prone to blotching. In that case, I'd try Charles Neil's blotch control product. The solar-lux will likely dissolve the shellac and cause an uneven appearance. If you apply the shellac after the solar-lux, you should spray it, otherwise, you'll likely pull up the dye and cause streaks (experience speaks). To answer your initial questions, shellac often takes about forty-five minutes to dry completely, or more or less, depending on temperature and RH. When sanding the shellac smooth, you can probably use a 320 grit.


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## Peteyb (May 28, 2011)

When I clean the gun after using shellac do I just use some thinner or water. Same thing with the solar-lux what should I use to clean the gun. Looks like I will be able to do this all tomorrow so I will try to post some pics.


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## Finisherman (May 3, 2013)

You can use denatured alcohol or lacquer thinner to clean your spray gun after you spray shellac. I believe that the solar-lux cleans up with soap and water. I look forward to seeing the crib in its finished state.


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## Peteyb (May 28, 2011)

So what did I do wrong? I only got not even half the project sprayed with the shellac and ran out. I was told that I should be able to get the crib and the changing table sprayed with one quart. I would say it looks like I have been putting a very thin coat on. I have some more shellac making right now so what do I have to do different?


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## Finisherman (May 3, 2013)

I doubt that you're doing anything wrong. A quart of material isn't really very much when you're talking about spraying a finish. Don't forget that there's always some overspray to account for. That crib has a large surface area relative to its size. If I were in your shoes, I'd plan on using at least two more quarts of shellac on the crib. Remember that thin coats are always better than thick coats, especially when you're spraying. Believe me when I say that spraying another thin coat of finish is far more enjoyable than sanding out the runs, sags and drips which often come when you try to rush the process.

Cheers.


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## Peteyb (May 28, 2011)

Just wanted to say thank for all the help you all gave me. I went against staining and just used the shellac. I posted it as a project so you can all check it out.


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