Thread: Many Questions

Welcome!

Two potential problems spring to mind from a look at your pic:

- Are you using stain/estapol mix painted on with a brush? Practically impossible to get a nice even coverage with this stuff unless you wipe off the excess which kind of defeats the purpose.

- Is the plywood just plain old marine ply from the hardware store? You'll find this is a B/C or even C/D grade which refers to the timber quality of the outer surfaces. You need to find a supplier who can get you A/B plywood and use it with the A surfaces facing out.

Spend a bit of time sanding your finished product before putting the stain on.

Stick with it you will only get better as you practice and learn more.

Care to share any pics of your reptiles?

Steph

Hi snake friend
there is no reason why you cant get a good finish on ply, but the main problems are cost effectivness if you want to sell them.
first choose your supplyer with care and make sure the top slice is as close grained as you can get it. course grained is hard to stain and hard to finish.
next sand the surface to 240 grit and apply an oil bases stain, this dosent blotch as badly as water or spirit base,

first put on a thick coat of thinish shellac (if this makes sense) this seals the stain in and helps fill the grain.lightly buff down with a worn 400 grit
then apply your final finish product you are the best one to know what to use re reptile safety 2-3 coats depending on what product you use

test on one of your offcuts and experiment!
astrid

looks like we were cross posting
astrid

(and here comes another cross post )

Hi and Welcome to the Forum

Herpetology aye! How on earth did you get into that? Sorry, but I have to confess I'm intrigued

Now to your questions:

what is the best method of applying stain and what is the best brand ...

The best method is to apply the stain first, wait until dry and then apply the finish. It also helps to use a stain that is either made to work with the top finish, or use eg a water-based stain followed by a non-water-based finish. Otherwise the stain can be diluted or removed from the piece when the finish is applied.

You may also find a light but even sanding over the finished piece helps, as well as removing all dust from the enclosure before applying the finish. Most places that sell paint and finishes should also sell tack cloths which are great for removing dust. A Tack Cloth is a piece of muslim impregnated with a solution that remains sticky - note, keep your tack cloth in an airtight container between uses or it will dry out and be useless.

Here's a recent thread on staining for you from the Finishing Forum.

http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...ad.php?t=58953

Cheers
Wendy

I posted this in your other thread. Similar to s_m.

Hi RL

I'm no expert but one thing I have learned is that it is better not to use a combined stain and varnish because it will come out blotchy.

I find it is better to use a straight stain first and then coat it with a clear Estapol over the stain.

The only stain that I have used is Wattyl and I don't think there is much difference in any of the brands.

You could try a coat of shellac before you stained it. This will seal the timber and your stain wont be so blotchy.