# finishing aspen?



## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

Has any one had any experience finishing Aspen? Friend of mine said that he finishen some natural but it turned greenish and browenish on him? He said he did not use any sanding sealer or any sealer for that mater, but also did not say what type of finish he used. I've been using mostly urathatne products cause I'm dummer then a rock and as lost as a goose in a snow storm when comes to finishing. I think any success I'v had has been by accident. Thanks for the help.


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## Bob N (Oct 12, 2004)

Jerry,

Was his wood good and dry when he finished it. From what I understand, a good high gloss polly is what is normally used.

btw.... I'm your neighbor over here in Hiram


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## jerrymayfield (Sep 25, 2004)

xplorx4 said:


> Has any one had any experience finishing Aspen? Friend of mine said that he finishen some natural but it turned greenish and browenish on him? He said he did not use any sanding sealer or any sealer for that mater, but also did not say what type of finish he used. I've been using mostly urathatne products cause I'm dummer then a rock and as lost as a goose in a snow storm when comes to finishing. I think any success I'v had has been by accident. Thanks for the help.


Aspen like its close relatives poplar,sycamore and others often contain mineral streaks that show up green or some shade of brown,in time these areas usually turn a darker brown. If the wood is chosen carefully it is a wood that can be finished to color match more expensive woods. If you are very lucky you can find some with a nice grain. One other thing the first coat of any film finish(usually thinned) is a sealer.

Regards

Jerry


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## lignumvitre (Jun 8, 2008)

I've had good luck with Gel Stains. Wait a good 4 hours or so and give it a wash coat of Dewaxed Shellac. Then you can finish with Poly if you want.


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## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

Thank you for the information, I should be using it soon


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## Marco (Feb 21, 2009)

Jerry,I'm getting ready to stain some Aspen with Minwax oil based........ is their Pre-Stain Pre-Stain Wood Conditioner - Wood Preparation the type of sealer you are referring to?

I've got it sanded and glued and love how it looks so far.... (found some with a little grain showing)...I'ld hate to ruin it at this point.


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## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

Looking back, I would sure do things differently now!! One year can sure make a difference!!I believe I have read that you apply the wood conitionar untill the open grain stops soaking up the conditionar. Best would be to get "Understanding Wood Finishing" by Bob Flexner on Amazon.com Amazon.com: understanding wood finishes - Home & Garden. You can also buy this at Peachtree wood workin, or Rockler and others. Let me know how it all works out. BTW you could check out my gallery yo see how it came out. I trust yours comes out better. Fact is Honey and I don't mind.


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## Marco (Feb 21, 2009)

Well lets just say I'll add Aspen to my growing list of things I've learned..... Put the stain on with no Pre Stain....... The first coat looked so so....... put a second coat on it thinking it would make it look better.........

Ugh I'll be sanding that stain off this weekend (Good Lord Willing) and see if Lacquer and Aspen get along...............


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## walketim (Aug 15, 2012)

*just finished an aspen table this weekend*



xplorx4 said:


> Has any one had any experience finishing Aspen? Friend of mine said that he finishen some natural but it turned greenish and browenish on him? He said he did not use any sanding sealer or any sealer for that mater, but also did not say what type of finish he used. I've been using mostly urathatne products cause I'm dummer then a rock and as lost as a goose in a snow storm when comes to finishing. I think any success I'v had has been by accident. Thanks for the help.


I am not a very good wood finisher but I did build a table out of aspen this weekend that is used to support a very large dollhouse. The one thing I would do differently is to sand and/or use a cabinet scraper to really, really prep the finish. Anywhere glue touched the wood, even if wiped off, seemed to really show up when stained so I'd be extremely careful gluing. I used minwax water base pre-stain conditioner, flooding it on and waiting and wiping it off after about 5 minutes. After letting that dry used a 220 sanding block and hit the raised grain, using a tack cloth at all points moving forward. I then stained it with minwax pecan which really looked red when it went on and scared me as I thought I'd have a pink table. It spread out in to a very nice pecan color that I quite liked. Finished with 6-8 light coats of minwax spray polyurethane hitting lightly the fully dried surface at coats 6-8 with that same sanding sponge. After the final coat and thorough dry polished with a t-shirt. I was pleased with the results and did not get blotches at all. Nor was there any wierd green tint like you see with poplar. It was just very pretty. The wood came from Lowe's and was very affordable, which is why I selected it.


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

Welcome to the forum, Tim.

Your experience will be of help to others who contemplate using Aspen.


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## bcfunburst (Jan 14, 2012)

Anytime I glue up panels or joints on any wood pieces, I have a water bottle and wet cloth to imediately wash away any squeeze-out. That eliminates 99% of problems with staining later. Hope this is a help for some fellow woodworkers. Hope everyone is enjoying some fine summer weather. Great days for making sawdust!!


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## Milt Findley (Apr 28, 2013)

Thanks Tim, I fell in love with the stuff at Lowe's and am building my first cabinet out of it. I will follow your lead and get back in here with the results.


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