Dying and Sealing Wood.

[BillyBilly]

Hello,

I'm not certain that I've posted in the correct category here - but I'm sure the 'Boss' will decide that point.

Having made a small, 3 drawer cabinet from redwood, I would very much like to know how to treat/stain the product.

My main concerns are that the knots and any resinous timber are sealed properly, and that the wood is dyed to a deep shade.

I realise that the inner drawers are my main problem, since any application that I apply to the inner cabinet sides will rub and 'stick' to drawer sides.

So, I guess my question is as follows; Can anyone recommend a suitable product, that will seal resinous timber and stain it at the same time, but will not cause the moving parts (drawers) to rub and 'catch' against the inner cabinet sides.

Hope that's clear

Thank you

Billy

 

[Scrit]

A lot of patent knotting compounds (used to seal live knots which can ooze resins) are based on shellac dissolved in meths - in other words they are a form of French polish. A dewaxed blond French polish (shellac) layer (probably a couple of coats) should seal the pine but allow a conventional tinted lacquer or varnish to be used for final finishing. If you seal the timber this way conventional staining will be out of the question and in any case stains tend to absorb into the summer growth of pine much more than the late growth and never look anything other than ugly to my eye. Only treat the outside of the piece, not the insides (see comment below).

Drawers are normally left unfinished on the grounds that French polish or oil finishes on them can end up smelling rancid in fairly short order, which in turn taints the contents. This is one reason why drawer sides were traditionally made from clear, knot-free pine.

Scrit

 

[BillyBilly]

Scrit - Thank you for your very detailed reply to my post of 18th April - apologies for not responding sooner.

So, could I stain the external wood first, then apply two coats of shellac, and then finish with a coloured lacquer, varnish or wax?

Or can't I do that?

Could I just use a stain for the internal parts, with no other procucts on top?

Thanks

Billy