# Finished some alder doors



## woodcoyote (Dec 30, 2012)

Decided to post because I actually like the color of them. Even the pictures aren't giving the right color, but close.


----------



## Wolfgang (Nov 16, 2008)

Looks nice.


----------



## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

Good looking job!


----------



## Phinnster (Feb 20, 2013)

What did you spray 
Stain and a poly ?


----------



## slinger58 (Feb 11, 2013)

I think alder is under appreciated as a Cab/door wood. Did a set of kitchen cabs a few years ago stained MW Ipswich Pine and finished with satin lacquer. I loved them. :thumbsup:


----------



## woodcoyote (Dec 30, 2012)

Phinnster said:


> What did you spray
> Stain and a poly ?


Treated them, stained, sanding sealer, poly. 

General finishes waterborne stain & sealers. Good stuff.


----------



## woodcoyote (Dec 30, 2012)

slinger58 said:


> I think alder is under appreciated as a Cab/door wood. Did a set of kitchen cabs a few years ago stained MW Ipswich Pine and finished with satin lacquer. I loved them. :thumbsup:


Agreed. Around here (southwest) it's a prized wood. Gives it that rustic look everyone is after (with knots). And clear alder is just beautiful, nice grain etc.


----------



## fauxlynn (Apr 28, 2011)

Beautiful work


----------



## DeanV (Apr 18, 2007)

woodcoyote said:


> Treated them, stained, sanding sealer, poly.
> 
> General finishes waterborne stain & sealers. Good stuff.


What stain products did you use? I have used a little of their stain stuff (waterbornes). I have not used their oil stains.


----------



## PNW Painter (Sep 5, 2013)

woodcoyote said:


> Treated them, stained, sanding sealer, poly.
> 
> General finishes waterborne stain & sealers. Good stuff.



I'm just curious what you mean by "treated them"? 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## woodcoyote (Dec 30, 2012)

DeanV said:


> What stain products did you use? I have used a little of their stain stuff (waterbornes). I have not used their oil stains.


I haven't used any oil from them.

Waterborne I use is their RTM stains. They made the switch this year and phased out some things and went straight rtm, which I actually like now.

I have the rtm box, so I have 300 stain samples to show customers. Which is nice.

Their exterior stuff 450 stains/sealers are pretty tough, I'll give them that.

I used their sanding sealer and clear poly (satin). All good stuff, but the poly isn't very tough. Needs 2 coats for sure, once it's cured it's good though.


----------



## woodcoyote (Dec 30, 2012)

PNW Painter said:


> I'm just curious what you mean by "treated them"?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Treating in my terms means washcoat. Or conditioner. 

With the alder wood I haven't had issues with splotching, but the wood is real thirsty. So it helps give us some play time with the stain.


----------



## DeanV (Apr 18, 2007)

woodcoyote said:


> I haven't used any oil from them.
> 
> Waterborne I use is their RTM stains. They made the switch this year and phased out some things and went straight rtm, which I actually like now.
> 
> ...


So you mix up the color yourself or does a dealer stock that line? I
The general finishes stuff by me is at Woodcraft and they do not carry the rtm line. I tried their other interior waterbase stuff and did not like it. Too lap prone. If the rtm is. I have better, I would like to try it. 

Brush and wipe, spray, or spray and wipe application?


----------



## woodcoyote (Dec 30, 2012)

DeanV said:


> So you mix up the color yourself or does a dealer stock that line? I
> The general finishes stuff by me is at Woodcraft and they do not carry the rtm line. I tried their other interior waterbase stuff and did not like it. Too lap prone. If the rtm is. I have better, I would like to try it.
> 
> Brush and wipe, spray, or spray and wipe application?


Honestly it took some adjusting to get use to the waterborne stuff, but I love it. I hate going to oils or lacquers, but do when we have to.

It is hard to brush and wipe, especially for big surfaces.

I almost always spray and wipe. On big surfaces for doors you almost have to. Otherwise you end up having dark start/stop points or overlaps.

They do sell a reducer to help slow down the drying time, but I learned you have to add quite a bit of it. And you also have to flood the surface if you try to do things by hand. 

Going from general finishes to sherwin's version of WB stain or minwax....huge difference. GF is just on a different level.

RTM has different basis with formulas to mix to in order to get the different colors. At the end of the day you save a good chunk of money and are more versatile since you buy the basis and mix yourself.


----------



## Romanski (May 4, 2008)

Any reason why you mask the hinges off at that point instead of just removing them?


----------



## woodcoyote (Dec 30, 2012)

Romanski said:


> Any reason why you mask the hinges off at that point instead of just removing them?


Yes a couple of reasons. 

1.) We like to mark the hinges so we know where they came from (which door jambs). Yes, this can be done by marking on top the door etc, but since we don't take the hinges off, it's a logical place to put them. 

2.) The doors are pre-hung prior to installation. 
What a lot of people don't understand is that by taking them off and on, you run the risk of throwing the door out of alignment when it's re-hung. I know there are holes to follow from screw marks etc., but why risk it? If it isn't done right, then the carpenter/door installer has to come back and re-fit or re-adjust the hinges/door fitting. Painter's complain about how much other trades screw their work up, let's make sure we aren't doing the same to others as well. 

3.) It's faster to leave and mask. They make door hinge covers for this, which I have, but couldn't find them for this project, so just taped it off. With a stick razor blade and some 1.5" masking tape, it goes by fast, faster than taking things all off and putting them back on.


----------

