I have red oak veneer cabinets in my kitchen that seem to have been
colored with a yellow stain. The result is a light color with pink and
gray woodgrain thats really quite nice. We just put in a new oven and
need to make some trim around the cutout (its a bit smaller than the
previous oven). I can get solid red oak from home depot, but I'm not
sure about the steps to finish it (sanding, etc). I've found a stain
that I think will allow me to match the color, but I'm uncertain of the
steps to get a nice, smooth durable finish. Any help would be
appreciated.

Stacy

I'm not sure that helps. I need to color the grain; do I sand first?
what grit? What are the steps to get from bare red oak to a finished
piece? Sand - stain/color - sand - poly?

Are you sure it's stained? Red oak ages to a medium gold color.
See this photo, which is red oak with only poly, no stain:

http://www.delorie.com/wood/projects...dining0001.png

Red oak freshly cut is a pinkish color. With one exception, all the
red oak furniture in my house is finished with poly and time, no
stain.

yes I'm sure.

"Stacy" wrote in message
oups.com...
I'm not sure that helps. I need to color the grain; do I sand first?
what grit? What are the steps to get from bare red oak to a finished
piece? Sand - stain/color - sand - poly?

Sand the bare wood in three or more passes. I start with 80 grit, then 120
grit, and then with 220 grit. I have sanded with 320 grit as well.
This sanding should leave the wood very smooth.
Next, apply the stain. You need to experiment to find the right color.
Matching old stain can be very difficult. Lightly sand with 220 grit (or
finer) sandpaper after the stain is dry.
Apply the top coat in several coats. Lightly sand between coats with 320
grit sand paper or 0000 steel wool.
Lightly apply 0000 steel wool after the last coat.
Jim

A couple of additional points to consider.

(1) The higher grit sandpaper you use, the less stain soaks in. That's
because there's less exposed grain for the stain to seep into. I
usually sand raw wood only to 180 - except the end grain (if that's
going to show) which I sand to 320. If you find that the stained color
is close but not deep enough, you can always try applying a second coat
of stain. Realize that the second coat will soak up less than the
first coat too.

(2) I also don't sand between the stain and first coat. Too much risk
that I'll sand through the stain someplace. If you want to sand here
(because the stain really raised the grain), go easy using with a 320
sandpaper.

I completely agree about using 320 between each coat of seal and go
with 3 coats of seal. You'll end up with a really smooth surface -
almost certainly smoother than your current cabinets! Doing anything
after the final coat is up to your judgement. If the final coat feels
smooth to the bare hand, don't worry about it - especially for cabinet
type of work.

My major concern would be ending up with something that looks right
color wise but is finished much nicer than the rest of your cabinets -
which might make it stand out. If that's the case and you want to try
again, sand back down to the raw wood stopping at 150 and only apply 2
coats of seal - that's probably about as much as the original cabinets
got!

wrote in message
oups.com...
A couple of additional points to consider.

(1) The higher grit sandpaper you use, the less stain soaks in. That's
because there's less exposed grain for the stain to seep into. I
usually sand raw wood only to 180 - except the end grain (if that's
going to show) which I sand to 320. If you find that the stained color
is close but not deep enough, you can always try applying a second coat
of stain. Realize that the second coat will soak up less than the
first coat too.

(2) I also don't sand between the stain and first coat. Too much risk
that I'll sand through the stain someplace. If you want to sand here
(because the stain really raised the grain), go easy using with a 320
sandpaper.

I completely agree about using 320 between each coat of seal and go
with 3 coats of seal. You'll end up with a really smooth surface -
almost certainly smoother than your current cabinets! Doing anything
after the final coat is up to your judgement. If the final coat feels
smooth to the bare hand, don't worry about it - especially for cabinet
type of work.

My major concern would be ending up with something that looks right
color wise but is finished much nicer than the rest of your cabinets -
which might make it stand out. If that's the case and you want to try
again, sand back down to the raw wood stopping at 150 and only apply 2
coats of seal - that's probably about as much as the original cabinets
got!


jon has it right. Please do not sand the stain before a top coat is applied.
You'll probably be sorry. Good Luck

Steel wool is fine if you're using oil based topcoats but isn't fine
with waterbased topcoats.

On Fri, 09 Dec 2005 18:36:06 GMT, "Jim" wrote:


"Stacy" wrote in message
roups.com...
I'm not sure that helps. I need to color the grain; do I sand first?
what grit? What are the steps to get from bare red oak to a finished
piece? Sand - stain/color - sand - poly?

Sand the bare wood in three or more passes. I start with 80 grit, then 120
grit, and then with 220 grit. I have sanded with 320 grit as well.
This sanding should leave the wood very smooth.
Next, apply the stain. You need to experiment to find the right color.
Matching old stain can be very difficult. Lightly sand with 220 grit (or
finer) sandpaper after the stain is dry.
Apply the top coat in several coats. Lightly sand between coats with 320
grit sand paper or 0000 steel wool.
Lightly apply 0000 steel wool after the last coat.
Jim

Lee wrote:

wrote in message
oups.com...

A couple of additional points to consider.

(1) The higher grit sandpaper you use, the less stain soaks in. That's
because there's less exposed grain for the stain to seep into. I
usually sand raw wood only to 180 - except the end grain (if that's
going to show) which I sand to 320. If you find that the stained color
is close but not deep enough, you can always try applying a second coat
of stain. Realize that the second coat will soak up less than the
first coat too.

(2) I also don't sand between the stain and first coat. Too much risk
that I'll sand through the stain someplace. If you want to sand here
(because the stain really raised the grain), go easy using with a 320
sandpaper.

I completely agree about using 320 between each coat of seal and go
with 3 coats of seal. You'll end up with a really smooth surface -
almost certainly smoother than your current cabinets! Doing anything
after the final coat is up to your judgement. If the final coat feels
smooth to the bare hand, don't worry about it - especially for cabinet
type of work.

My major concern would be ending up with something that looks right
color wise but is finished much nicer than the rest of your cabinets -
which might make it stand out. If that's the case and you want to try
again, sand back down to the raw wood stopping at 150 and only apply 2
coats of seal - that's probably about as much as the original cabinets
got!



jon has it right. Please do not sand the stain before a top coat is applied.
You'll probably be sorry. Good Luck


right. don't sand STAIN, but you can carefully sand DYED wood. I do it
all the time

Dave

wrote in message
oups.com...
A couple of additional points to consider.

snip

(2) I also don't sand between the stain and first coat. Too much risk
that I'll sand through the stain someplace. If you want to sand here
(because the stain really raised the grain), go easy using with a 320
sandpaper.

After thinking about my post for a few hours, you correct. I don't sand the
stain. Actually, I just lightly touch the surface with whatever (most of
the time it is steel wool).
I have never used water based poly thus I have no experience to transmit.
Jim