Having been asked to knock together a small set of drawers in abit of a
rush ... I have constructed them from soft pine with MDF insert in the sides
(think along the lines of a shaker style cabinet door). It's from what was
available in the shop rather than personal choice. Given more time, I would
have picked better materials all round, but such is life.

Before I dive in with some random finish, I wondered what the thoughts might
be for putting a finish on this so that the pine and MDF don't appear too
different, but that it's still a bit of a feature. If it's any bearing, the
person who this is for has primarily got quite dark colour furniture.

Also, I need to note that my local area lacks a "serious" hardware store so
finishes need to come from the standard "off the shelf" type products that
you might find in somewhere like B&Q, for instance.

I guess that I should also point out that I am a relative newbie to
woodwork.

Any help appreciated.

Though not my proudest project, I will post a couple of before/after
pictures.

Thanks

Sean

Sean wrote:

Before I dive in with some random finish, I wondered what the thoughts might
be for putting a finish on this so that the pine and MDF don't appear too
different, but that it's still a bit of a feature. If it's any bearing, the
person who this is for has primarily got quite dark colour furniture.

I prefer paint on MDF that leaves the shop.

"Sean" wrote in message
Before I dive in with some random finish, I wondered what the thoughts
might be for putting a finish on this so that the pine and MDF don't
appear too different, but that it's still a bit of a feature. If it's any
bearing, the person who this is for has primarily got quite dark colour
furniture.

Also, I need to note that my local area lacks a "serious" hardware store
so finishes need to come from the standard "off the shelf" type products
that you might find in somewhere like B&Q, for instance.

Only finish that will make them look the same is paint. Available at many
stores.

"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in message
news:fPbKh.6131$0W5.5160@trndny05...

"Sean" wrote in message
Before I dive in with some random finish, I wondered what the thoughts
might be for putting a finish on this so that the pine and MDF don't
appear too different, but that it's still a bit of a feature. If it's any
bearing, the person who this is for has primarily got quite dark colour
furniture.

Also, I need to note that my local area lacks a "serious" hardware store
so finishes need to come from the standard "off the shelf" type products
that you might find in somewhere like B&Q, for instance.

Only finish that will make them look the same is paint. Available at many
stores.


That was my fear.

I would prefer to keep a nice finish on the pine (ie: stain and varnish)

"Sean" wrote in message

That was my fear.

I would prefer to keep a nice finish on the pine (ie: stain and varnish)

Depending on the design, it may be possible to stain the pine and paint the
mdf a color close or even contrasting. That sort of thing comes down to
personal preference of what the recipient thinks looks good. Heck, I only
own two colors of socks to eliminate the guesswork of what matches.

Sean wrote:

That was my fear.

I would prefer to keep a nice finish on the pine (ie: stain and varnish)


So?

Paint the panel, clear coat the pine.

B A R R Y wrote:
Sean wrote:

That was my fear.

I would prefer to keep a nice finish on the pine (ie: stain and varnish)

So?

Paint the panel, clear coat the pine.
Depending on the appearance of the unit and what its intended resting
location will be, contrasting paint is a great choice.

A strong color is wonderful next to stained or clear wood. A fire-engine
red with pine goes great, as do any of the primary colors.

Dekker
www.WoodworkDetails.com

"Sean" wrote in message
...
Having been asked to knock together a small set of drawers in abit of a
rush ... I have constructed them from soft pine with MDF insert in the
sides (think along the lines of a shaker style cabinet door). It's from
what was available in the shop rather than personal choice. Given more
time, I would have picked better materials all round, but such is life.

Before I dive in with some random finish, I wondered what the thoughts
might be for putting a finish on this so that the pine and MDF don't
appear too different, but that it's still a bit of a feature. If it's any
bearing, the person who this is for has primarily got quite dark colour
furniture.

Also, I need to note that my local area lacks a "serious" hardware store
so finishes need to come from the standard "off the shelf" type products
that you might find in somewhere like B&Q, for instance.

I guess that I should also point out that I am a relative newbie to
woodwork.

Any help appreciated.

Though not my proudest project, I will post a couple of before/after
pictures.

Thanks

Sean



I will have to get a picture of the finish, wasn't too bad. In fact, for a
slap-together project it looks quite reasonable.

I did the pine with a cherry coloured stain ... several coats and sanding
between, which came out quite dark in the end. For the MDF, I used two coats
of a burgandy gloss.

Sean