Finishing Alder Wood

[Singlegrandad]

I have obtained a couple of nice blanket chests for my beautiful grand daughters. They are unfinished and I would like to stain and varnish them and am looking for suggestions. The sale man said they would look like cherry wood.

[mike hanyi]

quote " Let me tell you about my beautiful grand daughters"

please tell us more about them (slap me) more pictures also (slap me again)

hmm- oh yes the original question,
very light cherry in color, some kayak paddles are alder, very lightweight and brittle wood. I have seen some boats built from it and it is beautiful when knot free.

careful plenty of dirty old men around these waters......dont get us off the topic of boats please!!

[Kim Whitmyre]

I would not stain them with "red-brown *hit," but rather just give them a wiping with a good clear oil to pop the grain a bit, let dry thoroughly, and then apply the varnish. Alder has been called the "poor man's cherry" for its similar appearance to cherry. It's a lovely wood to work with.

[Rob Stokes, N. Vancouver]

Alder, like pine and birch and fir tends to blotch when you stain it. In fact it's almost a guarantee. Couple that with a wandering grain and it's hard to get two pieces of alder to look the same color.

BUT - there is a way. Actually, two. The easy way is to use a gel stain instead of a regular oil-based stain. I've had good results doing this, but there's still a risk that you could mess things up. The best way is to sand the alder to 220 and then apply a coat of dewaxed shellac using a 2 lb cut (yes, it must be dewaxed else the top coats may not adhere to it). The easiest way to get this shellac is to purchase it ready made. Zinsser sell it as SealCoat. This is different than their Bullseye product or any other product that they make and don't let anyone tell you different. You want SealCoat. Or you can mix your own shellac from flakes and decant the wax.

Apply the SealCoat with a rag or brush and you don't need a thick coat. As it's alcohol based it will raise the grain so once it's dry (it dries very fast) *gently* scuff the surface with 320 grit to remove the fur. If you sand through the SealCoat, re-apply it. You need ALL the wood sealed.

When all surfaces are sealed it's safe to apply oil-based stain. Because you've sealed the wood the stain will not penetrate and as such will not be as dark (per coat) as you may be expecting. That's OK. Simply apply the stain with a rag and remove the excess but making sure the coating/coloring is even. Let that coat dry and if needed, add another coat of stain. Keep going until you're satisfied and when you are, top coat with an oil-based polyurethane, or more shellac to seal it.

As with all new finishing experiments - please try it on a piece of scrap wood (alder) first so that you know what to expect.

Remember NOT to stain the inside of the chest as the smell will never go away. If you're concerned about sealing it, you can seal it with the shellac. If you do this, there will be a smell but it will go away pretty quickly (weeks) and you'll have to scuff the fuzz off the interior surfaces as you did with the exterior. A very thin coat of paste wax will even out the finish after you scuff it. This too will smell for a while though.

Good luck
Rob

[David G]

Alder can be quite lovely with a clear finish. It is quite light, almost as light as maple but with just a bit more warmth. If you want to stain it to look like cherry, it gets trickier. The grain does do a good job of simulating cherry. The problem is blotchiness. If you just wipe on some pigment stain (the most common thing found at hardware or paint stores) onto the bare wood, you'll end up with some areas that take up a lot of stain and some that don't take up much - in no particular pattern. Blotchiness - which is only accentuated when you put your clear topcoat (varnish, polyurethane, etc.) over the top.

I suggest a clear finish - no stain - for simplicity sake. If you're set on a darker finish, there are several options. First, you might experiment with dye stains. Use a spare piece of alder, or do samples on the bottom of the chest, where it won't be seen. Second, you can "condition" the wood prior to stain application. Minwax (for one) sells a conditioner that can be brushed on before the stain to lessen the blotchiness. Some people just brush on mineral spirits or m.s. mixed with a splash of Watco or small dollop of spar varnish. Third, you can seal the alder with a couple coats of shellac as a sanding sealer (I like Zinsser SealCoat - which is a proprietary mix of approx. 2lb. cut shellac). Then apply your pigment stain, per the instructions on the can. Fourth, you can use a gel stain. Just like normal stains but thicker, less runny, which sometimes eliminates or lessens the blotchiness. Finally, if you're spraying, you can seal the wood, then spray with tinted topcoat to suit. That's subtle, and can take a lot of coats to make a dark finish. Also obscured the grain.

All of these approaches have their pluses & minuses. Not knowing your finishing experience, I'd start by recommending either no stain or the third staining option mentioned. Whichever route you go, note that even professional finishers try out their intended approach on disposable samples before applying any product to the piece to be delivered.

"The scars of others should teach us caution" -- St. Jerome