Replies

1. 
   jackplane | Nov 04, 2004 04:36pm | #1

   Roll the stain with a rubber nap and brush, in your shop. Assemble and finish in place.

2. 
   Dave45 | Nov 04, 2004 04:43pm | #2

   Oh boy, you're in for some fun here.  You're essentially trying for a two-toned finish and that can be a real hassle.

   Wood is porus and just masking probably won't prevent "bleed-over" where the different stains meet.

   I made this piece a few months ago and managed to avoid "bleed-over" on the top by cutting a small saw kerf in the solid pieces I used for the bands.  I still had some "bleed-over" but it was all in the saw kerf and I touched it up with a fine point black marking pen.

   
1. 
   dfg | Nov 04, 2004 09:56pm | #3

   I'm not sure I was clear enough with my original question. Here's how I'm currently thinking of finishing the built-in, what do you think:

   -Pre-finish the birch carcasses with a cherry die stain and top with several coats of shellac. Some of the carcasses are pre-assembled in the shop and some are too big. With the big panels I'll pre-finish those in the shop masking off the rabbets and assemble these carcasses on site.

   -Mill the face frames and the styles and rails for the doors in my shop. All are cherry. Let these parts sit in the sun for some time. Assemble the face frames and mask the mortise and tenons on the door parts. Then rub on a BLO finish, brush shellac and maybe top with varnish (I might skip the BLO and/or the varnish).

   -Put a finish on the Ambrosia maple panels. (water based to keep them light?)

   -Assemble the Doors. I was thinking I may have to chamfer where the rails and styles meet since I was going to pre-finish the parts and the may not meet perfectly after assembly.

   Am I making this too difficult? Is there a better way or is my proposed finishing plan reasonable?

1. 
   Dan019 | Nov 05, 2004 07:46pm | #4

   Hey Dave

   Dave's right. Tape won't stop the bleed-thru. Just found out the hard way. It bled thru even tho I varnished part A (clear) before staining part B(walnut). Had to scrap down the meeting edges and do-over. But that was a good idea to put in a small curf.

   Am I making this too difficult? No, your plan sounds about right. There really isn't an easy way to do two-tone so if it's a paying project, charge accordingly.

   Then rub on a BLO finish, brush shellac and maybe top with varnish (I might skip the BLO and/or the varnish). I don't know what BLO is but if you skip it and varnish and just use shellac be aware that if someone sits a mixed drink or anything with alcohol in it and the liquid gets on a surface or shelf, it will melt a ring thru the shellac. Shellac is an excelent sealer and I use it alot but it does need to be top coated.

   As far as a finish, when the weather gets cold and I can't spray outside I use Tung oil or something equivilent. You can mix your own using equal parts oil (tung or linseed or even oil based stain) varnish and turpintine. Just wipe it on and let it dry. 3 or 4 coats (or more) and it'll look like it's been sprayed. Lightly sand out any nubs between coats with 220 as needed. The more coats the better it looks and it dries fast between coats because it's a thinned mixture. You can easily get 2 or more coats on in a day. Oh yea, all you need to do is wipe it on with a cotton cloth. I save all those white cotton socks that seem to loose there mates somewhere between the clothes hamper and the dryer. They make excellent throw away rags for stain and varnish.

   BTW, I just delivered a kitchen island last nite on which I used this varnish/oil/turp technique and the guy kept commenting how good it looked and how it still looked wet. I used his chosen stain in place of tung oil (after 2 coats of stain as a base) and it really did look good.

   Dan