popular wood

[jeff oldham]

im new at turning and most of the free wood I get is popular,,some of it looks ok,,but some of it takes on a green shade after sanding and putting on the finish,,i was thinking about getting a stain for it before I actually put the shine to it,,,and comments on this as far as the stain or how I could improve the finish,,also I been using eee before applying the finish,,,is there anything out there that does the same as eee but not quite so expensive,,thank you

[Robert Henrickson]

If you are talking about poplar, or "tulip poplar" as my botanist mother would always insist, exposure to light will quickly convert the green shades of the heart wood to various shades of brown. Try exposing it to sunlight for a week. I like the browns that appear.

[Grant Wilkinson]

Poplar takes stain very well, so you can pick any tone you like and stain it after sanding. I would not sand beyond 150 grit if you are going to stain. You should experiment with using EEE after the stain, though. EEE is a friction polish and may well "sand" off some of the stain. You would be better off using a hardening oil or poly over the stain, I think.

[Mark Patoka]

That green will quickly turn to nice shades of brown so take that into consideration before staining. I've turned a couple of poplar bowls and left natural they have a nice contrast between the sapwood and heartwood.