Stain and Gloss

[Ronald200]

Old fashioned hand sanding with the grain should be ok. Suggest you look at threads on staining floors in the Renovators/Flooring/Decking/Stumps etc section of this woodworkers forum. I've just learnt some brilliant staining techniques from the guys there.

I agree, do it the old fashioned way and also follow the instructions. Unless the package says you can or should spray, stick with a brush.

[garfield]

Thanks for the help guys. unfortunately I jumped the gun and started on the cabinet the other day and I have got a couple of marks showing through the stain. Hopefully with the wipe on poly it won't look so bad. I'll try and post some pics later on today.

One more thing, I;m sick of working with bent and warped crap pine. What would be a nice wood that a beginner could work easily enough with? I'll be building an entertainment unit for my lovely wife next and I'd like to use something other than pine, but don't want it to cost me an arm and a leg and would like it to be easy enough for me to work with.

Thanks
Geoff

[garfield]

Hi everyone. Here's some pics of the cabinet I made a mate (it's a bit rough I know) I think with the tips I was given on this thread I'll do it by hand next time and hopefully end up with a nicer looking finish.

[garfield]

some more

[garfield]

As you can all see my staining is sh@thouse! These pictures were taken with only one coat of wipe on poly applied.

[timdavis@activ8]

Pretty bloody good first effort I reckon.
Tip; throw away the power tools and buy a shotgun. Gives funiture and floors a beautiful "distressed" look. Don't laugh, where I live, just up the road in Benambra (also known as Bonanza), they finish everything this way; houses, cars, roadsigns, disputes, even family.

[garfield]

Thanks Tim. I'm not that happy with the way the stain has shown up the scratches and marks left from the belt sander I gather.

[timdavis@activ8]

Looks like you sanded a bit hard across the grain. Belt sanding is ok but you have to remove any cross grain scratches before staining. Bear in mind I'm a floorsander not a cabinet maker, but they sometimes use similar techniques. Not a bad bit of joinery though, it's not too late to resand and stain.

[garfield]

Looks like you sanded a bit hard across the grain. Belt sanding is ok but you have to remove any cross grain scratches before staining. Bear in mind I'm a floorsander not a cabinet maker, but they sometimes use similar techniques. Not a bad bit of joinery though, it's not too late to resand and stain.

Thanks heaps for the compliments Tim. I'm very much a novice still in both wood work and even more so in staining, but this thread has opened up my eyes a lot to a couple things. I'm not a 100% stuck on that wipe on poly stuff though, I find it hard to wipe it on consistently in some areas and might even start another thread and see just what the most common technique in staining and lacquering are.

I appreciate your input into this thread Tim and will post some more pics when the unit is complete (hopefully by the end of this weekend or next).

Thanks
Geoff.