Achieving uniform stain on alder

[Jeff Monson]

I'm trying to get a good finishing schedule on alder cabinets for a kitchen. I'm using all Target coating products. Heres my plan, please correct me where needed. FWIW I'm trying to get a uniform, blotch free look.

1. Sand to 220
2. Spray a coat of EM1000 sealer
3. Sand again 320
4. Spray or wipe on NR4000 medium oak stain
5. 3 to 4 coats of sprayed EM6000 clear sanding in between as necessary.

[Jim Becker]

I'm thinking you're going to want to test the effect of putting the NR4000 over the EM1000 to see if you are getting the coloration and effect you want before you commit to the real project...

[Jeff Monson]

I'm thinking you're going to want to test the effect of putting the NR4000 over the EM1000 to see if you are getting the coloration and effect you want before you commit to the real project...

Right Jim, I'm looking for a good starting point. Is staining over the EM1000 a good way to get around the blotching?

[Jim Becker]

Right Jim, I'm looking for a good starting point. Is staining over the EM1000 a good way to get around the blotching?
I honestly cannot answer the question because I've never cared about "blotching" which is just the figure in the wood absorbing color unevenly. For a really uniform color, tinting the EM1000 is an option before you spray it. Do it lighter than the end result so you can sneak up on the color you want. (this is what I do for coloring guitar bodies...literally EM1000 and Transtint) It also assumes you have a good gun and good spray technique, of course...you want to almost mist it on to build a little film so you don't get noticable overlaps. Someone recently posted here about spraying to tone and they did have an issue with overlaps being very noticable.

I have not used the NR4000 or it's predecessors, so I'm not going to speculate how well it will go on after sealing with the EM1000. You may want to contact Jeff Weiss at Target and ask that specifically.

[John TenEyck]

Blotching happens when there is excess stain/dye that gets absorbed into the more porous areas. If there's no excess, there's no blotching. The safest way to assure that is to do as Jim recommended and use a toner - and spray uniform coats with no excess.

An even safer way would be to first spray a base coat of EM1000 and then your toner over that.

John

[Jim Becker]

That's a good point, John, that I was not "clear" about, pardon the expression...I do at least one quick coat of the EM1000 untinted before I do the toning dance.

[Jeff Monson]

John and Jim thanks as always, you 2 are such a wealth of knowledge. I had put in a voicemail to Jeff at Target last week, he called me back this am. He suggested first coat 50/50 water and EM1000, light scuff and either tone with EM1000 or spray direct NR4000 and knock down with a rag. I have a multitude of pieces that wont be finished all at the same time so a "simple" schedule that is easy to re-create is important.