Stain Pre or Post Assembly

[Brandon Weiss]

Do you folks think it is easier to stain before or after assembly? I'm doing a small project that is roughly 24" tall by 6" deep by 12" wide. I want to get a good stain on the wood but I don't want the stain to affect or get damaged by the assembly process. This is a box with several compartments so there will be a couple of tight spaces.

Also, I'm doing this out of solid oak and oak ply. Any recommendations on stain?

[Mike Heidrick]

I like ML Campbell stains (wipe on) and their magnamax lacquer (spray).

[Jim Summers]

Do you folks think it is easier to stain before or after assembly? I'm doing a small project that is roughly 24" tall by 6" deep by 12" wide. I want to get a good stain on the wood but I don't want the stain to affect or get damaged by the assembly process. This is a box with several compartments so there will be a couple of tight spaces.

Also, I'm doing this out of solid oak and oak ply. Any recommendations on stain?

The staining and finishing part is easier. But you do need to do a lot of taping off of the glue joint areas so it does not impact the glue. You will probably want to go ahead and apply the finish also before glue-up if you are using a water-based stain.

I used to always assemble and then stain/finish. I still prefer that but I think I do get better results finishing first. You don't have to worry about glue spots and stuff.

HTH

[Paul Johnstone]

Do you folks think it is easier to stain before or after assembly? I'm doing a small project that is roughly 24" tall by 6" deep by 12" wide. I want to get a good stain on the wood but I don't want the stain to affect or get damaged by the assembly process. This is a box with several compartments so there will be a couple of tight spaces.

Also, I'm doing this out of solid oak and oak ply. Any recommendations on stain?

I don't think staining will be the problem. If you wipe on and wipe off with a rag, it's pretty easy to fit the rag into tight spots. Plus you can see the areas you missed.

I think the bigger problem is going to be applying the poly, if you are going to do that. But since it's only 6" deep, you might be ok.

If it were me, I'd do a try fit assembly.. tape or use clamps to hold together. See if you can get a brush in there. I guess you could try wipe on poly too. I know some people love it. I've never tried it, so I don't want to recommend it.

It's kind of a pain to finish before assembly because you don't want finish to get on any surfaces that are going to get glue. It might not be that bad for you to somehow tape the areas.. Or perhaps you can apply the finish before you do your dados or whatever joinery..

Hope this rambling helps. I'm not an expert by any means.

[Ellen Benkin]

I stain and finish the insides before assembly. I leave the outside for the final stage because it always gets dinged.

[Brandon Weiss]

I stain and finish the insides before assembly. I leave the outside for the final stage because it always gets dinged.

Ellen,
That's a pretty good idea. I'll still do all sanding and everything first, but that's an excellent idea to stain the inside first. Since this is a small project I think I'll try taping off the glue joints like Jim said and stain the inside. This will be my first attempt at a complete finishing. Everything I've done up to this point has been either painted or a simple stain and spray clearcoat. This time I will apply the stain and a poly too. Lots of reading to do first before I stain though. Me not know nothing.....