Replies

1. 
   Bill5507 | Oct 03, 2003 06:39pm | #1

   Floating panels in doors should aways be stained/finished before final assembly of the door, which eliminates this problem.

1. 
   shake_n_stir | Oct 03, 2003 06:58pm | #2

   Thanks Bill.   So you stain and finish the rails and stiles and the panels and then assemble them?

   I recently read an article about building a desk using panels and they stained the panels, then assembled the unit, and then stained the rails and stiles.  I thought, OH what a mess!  Would you not tend to get two coats of stain on the panel portions, and get dark spots all over the place?  MAN!

1. 
   Bill5507 | Oct 03, 2003 08:14pm | #3

   I usually stain/finish the panel then assemble the door before staining/finishing the stiles and rails.  If stain and/or fininsh ends up in the glue joint of the stile and rail it may cause glue adhesion problems so it's best to finish after the glue up. 

1. 
   shake_n_stir | Oct 03, 2003 09:11pm | #4

   Bill,  But don't you end up with problems with getting a double coat of stain on the panel part of the unit?

2. 
   SgianDubh | Oct 03, 2003 09:24pm | #5

   A typical routine is to complete your polishing procedure of the panels all the way up to the penultimate coat. This might include dying or staining, glazing, etc., or polish alone over a previously uncoloured but polish ready wood.

   Assemble the panels into the bare framework-- rails, stiles, intermediate rails and muntins if these are part of the job. Plane, scrape, and sand your rails etc.. Mask off the panels from the bare rails, stiles, etc., wth masking tape and newspaper, or similar.

   Complete your polishing procedure of the rails, etc., all the way up to the penultimate coat. Remove the masking and any masking tape gum residue from the panels. Apply your final coat of polish to the whole door.

   This generally works best with sprayed colouring agents and polishes, such as the nitro-cellulose family, but it can be done with brushed on polishes like varnish and shellac, although these two latter can be sprayed too.

   It makes sense to set the face of the panel a millimitre or two below the level of the rail/stile faces so that planing/sanding/scraping of these after assembly doesn't mean you cause damage to the already polished panels.

   If you're using a pure oil finish, such as linseed or tung, the above suggested routine is unimportant, and you can finish after assembly, but you have to watch out for glue squeeze out at the corners that might lock the panel. But you'd definitelyy want to avoid pure oil finishes on the inside of the doors to prevent the inevitable rancid musty smell that results when they're trapped inside a cabinet with little or no fresh air circulating. Slainte.

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