This is a continuation of my “less contrast in oak” post awhile ago. Following your wet sanding method I’ve arrived at a couple of possibilities that are giving the results I’m looking for. Doing a final test on several pieces to insure reliability. One with a base of sanded in Tung Oil, and one with sanded in Maple stain for a base color. This is followed by several coats of Chestnut stain for maximum darkness.
So….my question is, to have maximum control on sanding in, I was planning on doing the initial sand in on disassembled pieces before glue up (these are slat chairs with lots of small pieces). Not sure if clamping pressure would affect the “grain fill”.—Bruce
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As long as you can keep the oil and stain away from future glue surfaces, pre-finishing is fine. End grain is especially hard to protect, at least that's what I found when using masking tape in the effort to pre-finish.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Thanks--All is mortise and tenon with a clear shoulder line for masking.--Bruce
Just had a thought (oop, look out!) -- the main disadvantage to pre-finishing such a project is having to let it site between "sides" -- i.e., finish one side of all the pieces, wait a few hours, turm 'em all over for the other side. Takes longer. No biggie really, just wanted to point it out. It still may be easier and produce a more consistent finish in the long run.
Good luck and have fun!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Thanks for the heads up---Bruce
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