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A guy at the lumber yard in Tacoma told me to stop sanding poplar with 220 before stain
I had blotchy stain on 3 drawer fronts and couldn't figure out why. He said drop to 150 and raise the grain with water first, and the next batch came out even and dark on the first coat. Anyone else skipping the high grit on soft woods?
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lisat6026d ago
Poplar is one of those woods that loves to go blotchy if you take it too smooth. 150 is plenty, and the water trick really does work because it lifts the crushed fibers so the stain grabs even. I had the same mess on some cabinet doors and switching to a 1lb cut of dewaxed shellac as a wash coat fixed it too, but the sanding grit is the first thing to check. Going past 180 on poplar, pine, or maple just burnishes the surface and closes up the pores so the stain sits on top in patches.
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