Smooth and Blotch-Free Finish - Question of the Week

March 18, 2008 | Filed Under Blog, Question of the Week 

This week’s question comes from Jeff. He writes, “Love your videos have learned so much, only wish there were more! I have a problem and can’t find a layman’s answer. I like how you break down things so simply that even dumbass’s like me can understand. I built my nephew a computer desk out of Birch Plywood. I wanted to get this super nice cherry finish. The guy at HD told me to stain it with Cherry Stain (Minwax) then top coat it with Polyurethane (sp) Well, as I am sure you know it looks like “S**T” fortunately I did this on a test piece…please please please give me a layman’s answer as to how I can get a nice looking smooth finish, one that I would be proud of.”

And here was my reply: “Well this may not be super easy, but its the easiest way I know of. You can start by sealing the surface so that you get even stain absorption. I use a product called Bullseye SealCoat. This is a 2 lb cut of shellac but you might want to dilute it down to 1 lb. with denatured alcohol. Simply wipe on a good coat using a rag. It dries quickly so make it snappy. Let this dry for a few hours, then lightly sand the surface (by hand) with 220 grit sandpaper. Blow or wipe off the dust. Now you have a sealed surface on which to apply your stain. You can try the Minwax stuff, or you can try a gel stain. Gel stains are thicker and tend to sit on the surface more than regular stains. This means more even coverage over blotch prone woods. Once the stain dries, you can topcoat with shellac, varnish, lacquer, or any other topcoat of choice. But be sure to sand lightly between coats with 320. I like to actually increase the grit each time I sand. So after the first coat I use 320. After the second I use 400. After the third I use 600 and stay with it from there. And in general, as far as top coats go, I find wipe on varnish to be the easiest to work with. Remember, always practice on test boards. You never know how that stain is going to look until you actually try it. Good luck!”

And here are a few good related articles from FineWoodworking.com (made free for a limited time just for Wood Whisperer readers):

Avoid Color Mistakes and Learn How to Fix a Blotchy Stain

Dyes Can Do It All: Color bare wood without blotching, tint topcoats, and touch up blemishes

Gel Stain User’s Guide: Easy to apply, these stains are forgiving, even on blotch-prone woods

Comments

One Response to “Smooth and Blotch-Free Finish - Question of the Week”

  1. Germain on March 19th, 2008 5:24 pm

    MinWax is great if you want your wood to look like plastic with a simulated woodgrain finish. I know some people like MinWax, but I’ve never been happy with the results from those products.

    As for stain, I agree with Marc. If you’re going to use stain, gel stain works much better.

    Believe it or not, birch plywood actually looks quite nice when sanded well and finished with a few coats of an oil-based varnish. I tried it just for fun and was amazed at the results; certainly much better than any stain/polyurethane combo.

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