Hello SawMillers –

I’m seeking to improve my meager woodworking skills and looking for some pointers. To be honest, my project is to build cabinets for a Sprinter camper van that I’m outfitting – but I won’t be happy with the usual crap job. I’m seeking to honor the approach of my late father, who did meticulous work. I foresee learning ply bending in my future.

Right now I’ve got a finishing question. Probably my first mistake, I have large sheets of Baltic birch ply for flooring that I’ve cut tight tongue & groove joints but have not proceeded further. To combat the softness of the birch, I’d like to impregnate the top ply with some clear hardening polymer / resin, but don’t know the best product to use.

I tried System Three Clear Coat, but it was too viscous to penetrate any notable depth. I might buck the instructions and thin with acetone and try again.
www.systemthree.com/products/clear-coat-low-viscosity-epoxy-sealer

For less fussy projects I’ve used wipe-on Poly and it’s a contender because it is pretty thin. I’m curious about two part and catalytic finishes and if these might be hard.

Likely making this more difficult, I am going to stain the wood grey, and the stain I like is General Finishes Grey oil-based Gel Stain. The thick oil stain gives a differential color with the wood grain, while water based-stains make for a more homogenous and blah flat color. But the oil stain will block wood pores more, making my resin penetration goal harder to achieve.
generalfinishes.com/wood-finishes-retail/oil-based-wood-stains-sealers/oil-based-gel-stains

Here’s what I *think* is the order of operations. Please steer me in the right direction!

  1. Cut tongue & groove joints
  2. Sand joints perfectly flush to a grit #? that is good for staining and penetrating
  3. Stain the tops of the pieces and let dry for plenty of time
  4. Glue the tongue & groove joints. So far am intending to use System Three T-88 epoxy. Will test to make sure any squeeze-out doesn’t remove the stain. www.systemthree.com/products/t-88-structural-epoxy-adhesive
  5. Add unknown clear impregnating coat on top. No sanding or I’ll remove stain, right?
  6. Keep adding coats of who-knows-what clear coat. At some point there will be enough buildup that I can sand without breaking thru to the stained wood.
  7. Maybe the topcoat should be traditional wood floor oil-based polyurethane, like Bona?


What products could I test for the impregnation???

Be gentle… I’m kinda a beginner. What I learn on this flooring project I’ll apply to fussier cabinet projects in the near future… I’ve got *ideas*!