Carpentry and Woodworking - Do I need wood conditioner?
Doityourself.com community forum was created to provide answers to all questions related to home improvement and home repair. Doityourself community can help you find information about how-to topics on small fixes to large remodeling projects. With comprehensive how-to content and expertly moderated community forums DoItYourself.com makes it easy to tackle even the most complex home improvement projects.View Full Version : Do I need wood conditioner?
older7
10-22-09, 09:41 AM
Hi...I have some new unfinished office furniture that has an oak veneer. I tried to finish one item with a stain that did not take evenly at all. After some research I determined that where the stain did not take well is where the glue was put down to attach the veneer.
I have decided to simply clear coat poly the rest of the furniture. My question is...should I put wood conditioner on before I do that?
Thanks for you help!!
I have decided to simply clear coat poly the rest of the furniture. My question is...should I put wood conditioner on before I do that?
Thanks for you help!!
XSleeper
10-22-09, 03:01 PM
you could but it would be an unnecessary step.
marksr
10-22-09, 05:46 PM
The sole purpose of wood conditioner is to lightly seal soft woods [like pine] so they will stain more evenly. As stated above, there is no need for it when not using a stain.
older7
10-23-09, 06:05 AM
the reason we had thought about using a conditioner was because the stain was not taking as well where the glue was. we thought if we used the conditioner, the parts that did not have glue would get more equally saturated. the furniture looked like it had stripes where the glue was-whole strips that ran against the grain that were much lighter!!
was i wrong in thinking conditioner would help with the staining process, or just wrong now that i will be using a poly instead?
was i wrong in thinking conditioner would help with the staining process, or just wrong now that i will be using a poly instead?
XSleeper
10-23-09, 06:20 AM
Well first, your stated, "I have decided to simply clear coat poly the rest of the furniture."
This leaves us with the impression that you are not going to stain, but "simply clear coat". If that's the case, you would "simply clear coat" and there is no need for conditioner.
If you ARE going to stain, then the conditioner would help "some", although you don't usually use conditioner on oak. It will likely not give you the results you want, since the glue probably seals the wood better than the conditioner will seal the REST of the wood.
A better idea would be to try to lightly sand the veneer by hand with 120-150 grit sandpaper to open the grain back up so that those areas are not sealed by the glue.
This leaves us with the impression that you are not going to stain, but "simply clear coat". If that's the case, you would "simply clear coat" and there is no need for conditioner.
If you ARE going to stain, then the conditioner would help "some", although you don't usually use conditioner on oak. It will likely not give you the results you want, since the glue probably seals the wood better than the conditioner will seal the REST of the wood.
A better idea would be to try to lightly sand the veneer by hand with 120-150 grit sandpaper to open the grain back up so that those areas are not sealed by the glue.