Hello,
As is often the case, the DIY spirit has taken me to a place where I am not too confident. I’m hoping you can put me on the right track.
Here’s the deal: I purchased two cabinets with unfinished maple doors. I saw a picture in a magazine (see http://photos.yahoo.com/jegrayson and click on cabinet door) that is the finish I wanted to replicate. I now understand that maple is difficult to stain because it can be “blotchy.” Since I only have one chance to get it right, I took it to a professional restoration company. When I showed them the picture, there was some confusion about how to apply the stencil (or what I think is a stencil). When I told the furniture guy that I was just going to come in after he was done staining and use embossing powder and a stencil, he grimaced. He was concerned that the heat of the embossing gun would ruin his finish. Also, he wasn’t sure how the embossing powder would take to the sealed door. He raised the possibility of embossing before the sealing.
Any ideas?
Jocelyn
Replies
jocelyng
At least you asked questions before you started. That's way better than jumping in and doing a job that you really wish you could do over. - lol
You were told correctly that maple will stain 'blotchy'. I love working with the stuff, but it can be a real pain to stain and finish without looking like it has the measles.
The stain/finish you want to duplicate may present some problems. If it's a commercial stain/finish, it was probably done with materials, equipment, and techniques not generally available to a DIY'er.
I suggest that you get some small pieces of maple from a lumber yard and practice with stains/finishes until you find something you like - and can do well. Hopefully. you'll make all your mistakes on the samples. (Well, most of them, anyway - lol)
As for the stencils, I would guess that they should be applied after the stain and before the finish. Try it o your samples.
Good Luck
That's exactly my plan. Thanks much.
Hi, I'm doing the opposite of slumming by visiting this site (I usually go to Breaktime). Anyway, you might pose your question on Knots, the woodworkers' forum, but there are a couple things that will work to prevent blotchiness. First is to use a sealer (like thin shellac) on the wood before staining. The second is to wet the wood with mineral spirits before staining. Third, use gel stain. Four, use dyes first (and it sometimes pays to wet the wood first with whatever vehicle is used in the dye, or use a dye with retarder to slow drying), then stains. Lastly, you can even out color by spraying layers of colored lacquer. I'd try some scrap material first and see which technique works best. As far as stenciling and so on, I haven't any answers.
Thanks for your suggestions. I ended up farming it out to a refinisher. He charged me an arm and a leg, but the doors look great.
Jocelyn
Well, at least you know why he charged the big bucks to do it! ;-)
He was a little condescending when I balked at the price - he explained the complexity of the process quite well.
Jocelyn