I do OK at building something but, when it come to finishing, I’m not that experienced. I’m building a baby crib for my first grandchild, one that I hope will become a family heirloom to be passed down for a few generations. It’s red oak and has raised panels on the bottom half of each end and 3 raised panels across the back. I’ve cut a 3/8″ deep by 1/4″ wide groove for the panels to set in and am using space balls to compensate for expansion/contraction. It will be stained a dark cherry (at my daughter-in-laws request) and I have stained the edges of the raised panels before assembly to avoid any problems with the wood contracting.
My question is this: Should I also pre-stain the grooves to help seal the wood from moisture, or will the finish coat (oil based poly) be sufficient? I will be spraying on the poly finish with a HVLP system.
Thanks!
Toolman50
Edited 2/24/2007 11:02 am ET by toolman50
Edited 2/24/2007 11:03 am ET by toolman50
Replies
toolman50 ,
I would say do not stain the inside of the grooves , mainly because they are not seen and to eliminate the possibility of contaminating the glue joint with stain before glue up .
If you don't stain the grooves no problems will result .
imo the 3/8" depth depending on the width of your panels may be a tad stingy , 1/2" is more standard and with the use of space balls taking even more space , I would think more about that one .
good luck dusty
Thanks for the advice and info guys. I've got alot to learn about finishing a project! Building it seem to be only half the job. Also, thanks for the input on the depth on my grooves, oldusty. I did think about that before I made them and talked myself out of going deeper, but I will reconsider on my next project.
Toolman50
stain will not "seal from moisture". Regular stain is only coloring agent (pigment and/or dye) in a solvent. There is no "finish" to it, unless your talking about one of those combo stain/varnish types.
Edited 2/24/2007 8:00 pm ET by stantheman
I wouldn't worry about staining the inside of the grooves. Dye has no binder, but stains with pigment do have more than solvent, they have a binder--typically a very much thinned varnish, but in some cases a lacquer, or an oil/varnish mix. This would have a very modest sealing effect. Without the binder, pigment could be rubbed off as soon as the solvent evaporated.
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