Expert: Greg Scholl - 2/8/2009

Question
QUESTION: Hello - I took on a large cabinet job and after stripping and sanding I discovered the wood is too hard won't take stain. Gel stain worked but was too hard to control. I tinted an acrylic urethane (white) and it worked on the small areas but large areas, up to 10 sq. feet have been impossible to paint without major lap lines, tried water/ flotrol. So I'm wondering if I should spray the urethane or just go oil base? Thanks.

ANSWER: Hey Alan, a little confused by your post. You tried Gel stain, which is a pretty easy stain to work with, yet you state "it was too hard to control"....in what way? It should be among the easiest to control. I am also confused by tinting an acrylic white urethane. Do you mean you're trying to tint an opaque white urethane and then use that as a stain? You say you tried "water/flotrol"....tried it in what? and your Subject line says "glazing" cabinets. Are you staining and clear coating? What kind of wood are you dealing with? It's rare to get a wood that's too hard to stain, but when you encounter it, you need to go right to a Dye stain, and sometimes a combination approach of Dye and then a Pigmented stain. You can also use a toner coat or two. Please post back a little clearer and I'll see if I can help- Regard- Greg

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for the reply! The wood must be alder or cherry but it won't take stain.. at all. The gel caused lap lines in large areas and built up in the crevices. Aside from that there are many marks and stains in the wood that would not sand away and need coverage.  I bought an acrylic polyurethane and tinted it white, achieving a hard coat and the color I wanted in one step, but on large surfaces it failed due to lap lines. Is spraying worth trying or am I crazy? I want to avoid oil base. Please help me...

Answer
I have to say I'm still a bit confused...both Cherry and Alder are relatively soft woods and should stain fine. The Gel stain needs to be completely wiped off after each coat, and to deal with left over in crevices, you should just usa a "dry" brushing technique to blend those areas. It sounds to me like the finish has not been completely removed. Are these kitchen cabinets? Do you know what the original finish was? It sounds like maybe a catalyzed finish, which are VERY tough to completely remove. You talk about tinting an Acrylic Urethane white, what did you tint it with, and why didn't you just buy a white urethane? And how did you get lap marks? From your application method it or did they show up during drying? But still, I remain confused, are you trying to get the piece white? or are you trying to stain it? How large an area are you working with, and how are you applying the stain. Why do you want to avoid oil based products...the Gels are oil (poly) based.............sorry for so many questions, but I need you to slow down and give me all the information in order for me to really understand the issue(s)....now that you've applied a urethane to the surface, you've sealed it all up again and no stain will take...if you have spray equipment, by all means it should be used, but only to spray the proper finish, a waterborne urethane is quite different to spray than lacquer for instance......and requires different cap/needle combinations and different techniques, or HVLP equipment. Please tell me your methodology from the start, and tell me what you're trying to achieve as far as the desired finish......