Linnea Lahlum
10-06-2020, 3:16 PM
I want to stain and varnish a couple of IKEA small plywood cabinets with drawers. I have had these around for years, my kids used them unfinished in their rooms: but I just found out they fit perfectly into some used oak veneer bookcases I am fitting into my home office.
But I know from experience doing a previous one some years back, that the wood has fuzzies that do not sand out in sanding before staining. I think it's bass wood or some similar soft wood. No visible grain. As you sand, more fuzzies come up. I hope they are visible in the photo. I have not yet done anything to this piece.
How can I prepare the wood to eliminate these? Scape the wood with a fresh razor blade? That’s what I do to remove dust nibs in finish coats.
Unlike many of you, I don’t have a well equipped shop. My woodworking is mostly refinishing and adapting pieces for home use. These cabinets are also not worth lavishing a lot of time on. I have a tendency to make projects more complicated so have to resist that.
FWIW, stain will be oil based – medium reddish brown to match the bookcases - and finish will be poly, rubbed on. I figure I will need a wood conditioner before staining too.
I was looking up sanding sealers thinking that might be the right thing. But then saw they should not be used with a stain.
Thanks.
But I know from experience doing a previous one some years back, that the wood has fuzzies that do not sand out in sanding before staining. I think it's bass wood or some similar soft wood. No visible grain. As you sand, more fuzzies come up. I hope they are visible in the photo. I have not yet done anything to this piece.
How can I prepare the wood to eliminate these? Scape the wood with a fresh razor blade? That’s what I do to remove dust nibs in finish coats.
Unlike many of you, I don’t have a well equipped shop. My woodworking is mostly refinishing and adapting pieces for home use. These cabinets are also not worth lavishing a lot of time on. I have a tendency to make projects more complicated so have to resist that.
FWIW, stain will be oil based – medium reddish brown to match the bookcases - and finish will be poly, rubbed on. I figure I will need a wood conditioner before staining too.
I was looking up sanding sealers thinking that might be the right thing. But then saw they should not be used with a stain.
Thanks.