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| Leave it to the pro. Michael Dresdner, a nationally known wood finishing and woodworking expert, has answered hundreds of common wood finishing questions in Varathane’s Q&A library to help you successfully complete your project. Click on a link to the left for help and solid advice. |
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| Q: How should I prepare new teak marine plywood for stain and semi-gloss finish for exterior use?
A: Teak offers no particular finishing challenges and should be handled the same as any other wood. Sand it to at least 180 grit, then stain, if you choose to alter the color, using a 100% pigmented stain, such as Varathane oil based stain or gel stain. Pigment based stains will not fade in sunlight. Top that with several coats of spar varnish. |  | |
| Q: Do I need to use a pre stain conditioner on alder?
A: Alder is one of those ‘on the fence’ woods. By that I mean that it usually does not require conditioner, but I have seen pieces of alder that would benefit from it. In part it depends on the species and locale. The red alder in my area almost never needs it, but that is not true of all alder. Since you are not sure, in this case it won’t hurt to use it, if only for insurance. Flood the conditioner on liberally, wipe it all off, then stain while the wood is still wet with conditioner. Be warned that using conditioner will cause the stain to go on lighter, so choose your stain accordingly. | | |
| Q: I have a fiberglass door, finished with gel stain which is flaking and peeling on the exterior side. I would like to remove the gel stain from the fiberglass door and wood frame and replace it with paint. Can you tell me the best and easiest way to remove the gel stain to prepare it for painting?
A: Use paint remover to get the old finish off, then make sure you prime it with a good exterior primer before painting. | | |
| Q: My husband and I are building a built-in bookcase storage cabinet out of natural rustic plywood. Some of the knots in the plywood have been puttied with a relatively light color. I’m interested in doing a light natural finish on this project. How would you recommend going about finishing this project? Do I need to treat the knots somehow or do I just want to finish directly over the top of them?
A: If you have concerns about the knots ‘weeping’ resin, which, to be honest, is possible but unlikely, you might want to seal the wood first with one coat of Zinsser SealCoat, a clear primer. Apply the SealCoat after the stain has dried if you decided to stain the wood rather than leave it in its original color. After that, finish with whatever you choose, since both waterbased and oil based finishes will go nicely over SealCoat. Personally, I would probably go with gel stain for changing the color, if you choose, followed by oil based polyurethane, which is both easy to use and quite durable. |
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