hotfudgedetroit.com

middle aged female wrote:

D-Day wrote:Friend of D-Day Out Of The Can made this box for us in memoriam of the Tango Uniform D-Day. It needs to be finished, but I don't really know how to finish it.......the wood is really, really soft. Almost like balsa. Should I just put urethane on it? Light stain and then urethane?



Suggestions?

BTW......if anyone is concerned, D-Day Out Of The Can has been doing fine since he came back from the can. He's working and, for now, seems to be pretty dead set ob changing his ways. Time will tell, but so far, so good

Beautiful job on the box and I'm glad to hear D-Day II is doing well. How long since the can opener was applied? About a month, now? It's a good start

Yep....Mrs.D-Day picked him up on 31 Dec and, yeah, it's a good start. He works nights so we figure that will make it easier for him to stay out of trouble. It really seems like whatever he did in that lockdown rehab, he took seriously

If anyone knows how to get hold of Roq, can you put him in touch with me. PM me for my phone #

D-Day wrote:

middle aged female wrote:

D-Day wrote:Friend of D-Day Out Of The Can made this box for us in memoriam of the Tango Uniform D-Day. It needs to be finished, but I don't really know how to finish it.......the wood is really, really soft. Almost like balsa. Should I just put urethane on it? Light stain and then urethane?



Suggestions?

BTW......if anyone is concerned, D-Day Out Of The Can has been doing fine since he came back from the can. He's working and, for now, seems to be pretty dead set ob changing his ways. Time will tell, but so far, so good

Beautiful job on the box and I'm glad to hear D-Day II is doing well. How long since the can opener was applied? About a month, now? It's a good start

Yep....Mrs.D-Day picked him up on 31 Dec and, yeah, it's a good start. He works nights so we figure that will make it easier for him to stay out of trouble. It really seems like whatever he did in that lockdown rehab, he took seriously

If anyone knows how to get hold of Roq, can you put him in touch with me. PM me for my phone #

D-Day, Roq and I are FB friends; message me your contact info on FB and I'll see if I can get it to him

D-Day wrote:Yeah........I'm almost tempted to pay someone to do this. This isn't novice territory where there's room for mostakes

Was that intentional irony?

This isn't difficult stuff. Just practice on some scrap wood until you're proficient. But if you truly don't trust yourself then pay a visit to the stores that I cited. They probably can put you in touch with someone who will do it for you.

Shit, I'm no expert and I'd say FUIGB is the more experienced wood worker. That said, I've never finished wood that soft but I'd guess that it is a little more receptive to stain than the oak or maple I've usually finished. I'd also guess that the stain will penetrate deeper into the wood but I'm not sure either of those things matter. For something like that I would normally wipe it down with water to open up the wood cells to be more receptive of the stain but if my thinking is right regarding the porousness of the wood, that might not be necessary and I wouldn't do any resanding with it either. I agree with Frank regarding testing on the bottom or obtaining like wood for testing. I tend to prefer dark stains but I would go with something lighter for this project. A lighter stain would make the darkened areas and the lettering pop. An English Chestnut or light walnut type would be my preference. It would probably only need one coat with a soft bristle brush but you would judge it after that first coat. Let it dry for a couple days then if need be, go over it lightly with a very fine steel wool to smooth out any inconsistencies in the stain if it's heavier in some areas. Then apply a light coat of polyurethane, probably semi-gloss. Let it dry for another day or two. Apply another coat of poly and let it dry again. If there's any issues with the poly after it dries, you can go over trouble areas with very fine sand paper (220 or so) and then apply another light coat but that usually isn't an issue when you apply multiple light coats.

That's what I got but I'm sure someone around here knows Norm Abrams. I believe he's an actual, real wood worker.

All good advice, especially about trying things out on the bottom first. You might also ask if the maker has any scraps you can use. Soft wood will also sometimes become blotchy with stain when different areas absorb it differently. In the past, I've used a thin layer of shellac to seal the wood before applying stain. The wood will still take stain, but it won't suck it right in and it helps even out the color. Plus if it's too dark, or you don't like it, you can always remove it (to some degree) with mineral spirits.