Stupid Staining & Gluing Question...

[Harold Burrell]

OK...don't laugh...

Can you do a glue up (with say Titebond II) AFTER staining???

(Thank you in advance for your answers...and for not making fun of me. :o )

[Kent A Bathurst]

.....Can you do a glue up (with say Titebond II) AFTER staining???.......

Good query - Not stupid at all. I'll see you and raise you. Sometimes I use finishing products that can be applied and then wiped off, being careful to get every thing out of the corners wipe and compressed air). Sometimes, though, it isn't "wipe-able" (i don't have spray equip).

In either case, but especially in the latter, I ALWAYS go as far in the finishing as possible without asssembly. Now, this doesn't include gluing up a table top, just assembly. It's a lot easier for me to do it this way than trying to get the perfect brush-on shellac, etc where the shelf meets the side of carcase of a bookcase, for example.

You just need to (a) tape tenons and fill dadoes/mortises, or (b) leave them oversize and recut after finishing, or (c) something like that - so the glue can still work.

[glenn bradley]

Blue tape is your friend. I don't recall all the science of it but the stain potentially fouls the bond. Here's from their website FAQs:

Can surfaces that have been painted or stained be bonded using Titebond Wood Glues?
Most of our glues are designed to bond bare wood. Painting or staining a wood blocks the pores, keeping the glue from penetrating into the wood.

[Harold Burrell]

Thanks for the reply.

I am actually doing a drawer veneer and want to stain it first. So, realistically, the vast majority of the "glue side" will be unstained anyway. However, I know that this question has come up before in my mind.

[Harold Burrell]

Blue tape is your friend. I don't recall all the science of it but the stain potentially fouls the bond. Here's from their website FAQs:

Can surfaces that have been painted or stained be bonded using Titebond Wood Glues?
Most of our glues are designed to bond bare wood. Painting or staining a wood blocks the pores, keeping the glue from penetrating into the wood.

Oh, boy...I guess that pretty much answers that!

Thank you kindly.

[Lee Schierer]

On assemblies that will be hard to wipe down after applying the stain, I often stain pieces before assembly and use masking tape, white works better than blue or purple to cover glue areas. Some stain will wick into the wood, but the majority of the joints are stain free.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Thanks for the reply.

I am actually doing a drawer veneer and want to stain it first. So, realistically, the vast majority of the "glue side" will be unstained anyway. However, I know that this question has come up before in my mind.

If I understand you, you want to stain the veneer first? Just be sure not to let any stain near the edges on the to-be-glued side for the reasons Glenn noted. You'll want a solid bond at the edges. Course, stain over-sized veneer, and cut away the edges where stain might have wrapped around to the back side.

[Howard Acheson]

>>> Can you do a glue up (with say Titebond II) AFTER staining???

Yes and no. Pigment stains like Minwax Wood Finish contain a resin or varnish binder to hold the pigments onto the surface. They effectively seal the surface and pores of the wood. Therefore, waterbased and most other adhesives will not hold well on pigment stained surfaces or painted surfaces. Most adhesives are intended to be used on virgin wood.

Dye stains are wholly obsorbed into the cells of the wood and waterbased adhesives will attain fully strength.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

OK...don't laugh...

Can you do a glue up (with say Titebond II) AFTER staining???

(Thank you in advance for your answers...and for not making fun of me. :o )

Absolutely.
If the stain was a water or alcohol base.
If an oil: fugetaboutit~!! Ya gotta strip wood off till you get the stain gone entirely and then some. 'cause the oils can penetrate further than the pigments.