Stain over poly???? Is it possible?

[Juneaudave]

Stain experts....I have poly'd my birch skins a neutral color, and temporaily slid in the cherry shelf that I was messing with. The color contrast was "ok" but not what I was expecting... Is it possible to lightly sand those skins (they are covered with spar poly) and re-stain to a darker tint? It's not too bad..but if there is an easy fix, it might be worth it for my sense of satisfaction...otherwise, I guess I'll live with it short of cutting new skins...

[prohandyman]

Dave
I tried with minimal results. Sometimes it will darken the epoxy a little, but not much true stain color remains.

[madjack]

Dave, I don't think it will work with regular stain(at least not to your liking) BUT, you can get poly with a stain in it (MinWax for one)...do a test and see if the results are worth it......
madjack

[toypusher]

Dave, I don't think it will work with regular stain(at least not to your liking) BUT, you can get poly with a stain in it (MinWax for one)...do a test and see if the results are worth it......
madjack

I think that this is probably the best bet. "Polyshades" will probably give you some decent results. Like MJ says 'do a test'!!

[48Rob]

Hi Dave,

No, lightly sanding and applying stain will result in a blotchy mess.
If all the old poly is stripped off, and the surface finely sanded, you can stain, then re-poly the panels, but it would be difficult to make it look good with the panels in place because of the difficulty in getting an even coat of stain in the corners and along the edges.

As Jack suggested, using a pre mixed poly/stain combination sometimes is an adequte solution.

I color match panels often using the same theory.
I use oil based varnish or spar, and mix in oil based stains to achieve a few extra shades.

It is important to use a test board, or scraps of the same wood you are working with.
It is important to test not only the stain on the board, but to also apply the varnish, in the same number of coats as the finished piece will recieve, as "amber" varnish can darken the surface in itself by several shades.

While this method works well to match similar panels, I think that if your goal is to make the birch look like cherry, you will be very dissapointed.

If you achieve the color, the finish will be very close to, if not, solid...like paint, from the many layers it will take.
And even then, the grain difference will really stand out.
(They still won't look "the same").

If Chery walls are the goal, cherry stain on stripped panels, or cherry panels will give you much better results.

From looking at your pictures, I think that your contrasting Cherry shelf looks very good against the light Birch, especially with the light strip down the center and the cane work.
It looks like it was planned...

Rob

<img src="http://www.tnttt.com/gallery/image.php?image_id=32212">

[Miriam C.]

I'm with Rob. I think the cherry looks like a nice accent piece. Your TD is so beautiful if you are going to change the color, perhaps new panels would be a better idea.

[Juneaudave]

I'm with Rob. I think the cherry looks like a nice accent piece. Your TD is so beautiful if you are going to change the color, perhaps new panels would be a better idea.

Thanks guys...I looked at it this morning after reading the replies...re-stain out is out...new skins maybe (I can still slide the headiner up and pull the skins out)...but maybe a change in how I treat the cherry is in order is a better bet....

I haven't built the face frames and doors for the inside cabinets yet...so maybe I could limit the cherry to being an accent rather than as the primery wood like I was thinking... I wonder what would it look like if a fella were to use ash rather than cherry for the cabinet face frames... then used caned cherry doors??? That way the cherry wouldn't be so dominant...



Ever walk into a nice house only to find orange shag carpet and avacodo green appliances in the kitchen? At this rate, I might end up with something like that!!!

[tk]

Dave, Don't fail to consider that cherry darkens as it ages due to UV exposure. Even if you match the panels to the shelf now, down the road the cherry will become darker yet.

Best,
Tom

[toypusher]

Dave,

I used ash for cabinet faces in my tear with birch skins on the sidewalls. It is hard to tell that they are different woods. I don't think you can go wrong with the ash if you want it to match birch.

[Juneaudave]

Dave,

I used ash for cabinet faces in my tear with birch skins on the sidewalls. It is hard to tell that they are different woods. I don't think you can go wrong with the ash if you want it to match birch.

I think I will go 4 it!! Ash is a bit splintery, but I have ash accents all over this trailer and it's cheap and readily available here in Juneau for fixing all the old fishing boats!!! I gotta cuss Danny and Doug...I really like the look of Danny's dark wood cabinets, but then Doug came along with that nice yellow stain he used on the inside of his new build...I've found myself in a deep state of ying/yang dark/light design conflict. No wonder people build several of these things...ya just can't have one trailer that incorporates all the good ideas out there!!!!!

[Miriam C.]

I really love the shelf and if I were going to the trouble of making cabinet doors I would match the shelf. I know it is a lot of work. If you match the face frames to the sides it will looked planned.

[halfdome, Danny]

Dave,

I used ash for cabinet faces in my tear with birch skins on the sidewalls. It is hard to tell that they are different woods. I don't think you can go wrong with the ash if you want it to match birch.

I think I will go 4 it!! Ash is a bit splintery, but I have ash accents all over this trailer and it's cheap and readily available here in Juneau for fixing all the old fishing boats!!! I gotta cuss Danny and Doug...I really like the look of Danny's dark wood cabinets, but then Doug came along with that nice yellow stain he used on the inside of his new build...I've found myself in a deep state of ying/yang dark/light design conflict. No wonder people build several of these things...ya just can't have one trailer that incorporates all the good ideas out there!!!!!

:lol: Mixing woods in a project can be fun as long as they go together correctly. I've had two large planks of 1" Honduran Mahogany collecting dust in the shop for years. They are select pieces and I've been saving them for something special. I'm thinking of mixing it with Cherry in the cabin of my next one. I'll have to make up a test sample. I'll still do the Canary wood & Walnut in the galley. I like the combination you are using . Danny

[doug hodder]

Dave...I like the yellow as it resembles the vintage trailers. 1 thing to think of is that a lighter wood on the walls make it seem larger than a dark stain. I think your woods look great! I'd leave them. Dyes are fun as you can custom blend. Doug

[madprinter]

I'm going with "Leave it alone". It looks fantastic the way it is. Your wood may not be perfectly matched, but it go's well together. Thats whats so beatiful about woods, is the slight contrast and blends of color. I used to spray cabinets sometimes with automotive clearcoat with stain added. This was to raw wood tho, so I don't know if it would work on your panels.
treat some scrap the same as you did your panels, then play with them if you must, but i like it as it is.