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July 1, 2008
How to finish our wood?
We are almost done stripping the paint from the molding around one of our windows. Although the wood is a "lesser" species, we do like the color and grain and would like to see how it looks with a clear finish. Judging from our research, it looks like it's most likely maple, although there's an off-chance that it's poplar or cherry. Does anyone have experience finishing similar wood, and have any recommendations for stain and/or sealer that they could share? Thanks in advance!
Comments
all the woods you mentioned will blotch when stained on the raw wood. suggest you wash coat with Zinnser Seal Coat.(dewax shellac) This will show you the true colors of the wood, and allow you to pick a stain color if you wish. You can then topcoat with varnish, or poly.
Posted by: guest at July 1, 2008 3:59 PM
You should figure out the wood... cherry should not be stained, maple perhaps, and poplar, probably.
Posted by: denton at July 1, 2008 5:26 PM
if you want a temporary chance to see how it will look with a clear coat on it, wet it with a bit of water.
Also, denton is right, you should determine the wood. oak and mahogany were widely used up until about 40 years ago for trim, poplar and maple not so much.
Posted by: guest at July 3, 2008 11:37 AM
If you are interested we have a few master carpenters/woodsmiths in our roster of coaches who could help you choose the stain and finish to help you match the look you're going for and walk you though finishing the project on your own.
Take a look (www.ConstructionCoachesNY.com) and give a call if you think it would be helpful.
Eitherway best of luck, sounds like a neat project.
Posted by: ConstructionCoach at July 3, 2008 4:23 PM
Yep, try the Zinsser dewaxed sanding sealer. If you don't like it, you can remove it with denatured alcohol.
Posted by: guest at July 3, 2008 9:10 PM
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