To apply polyurethane before or after trim intall?

[GaetanoL]

I am planning to stain the trim in a basement finishing project that I am getting close to completing. I am going to use a stain, followed by a coat or two of polyU.

My plan was to paint the walls, then measure and cut the trim. After all the trim was cut, I was going to stain/poly it, then install it. Last, I was going to fill any nail holes and touch-up with more polyU. Does that make sense?

Or should I stain (but not poly), then install the trim? Then, after filling the nail holes, I can apply the polyU.

Thanks,
Guy

[Gunguy45]

Go with your original plan..

[XSleeper]

Sounds good, but I can't imagine why you would cut the trim first! Stain and finish it all, then cut and install, fill nail holes, touch up poly.

[Gunguy45]

Ouch....well it was early when I read it....

Yes, as X said...stain and poly it all first. You can touch up the cut ends with a StainStick (lighter shade than the main stain, it will look darker on the cut end) before install.

[marksr]

I would add, if you stain before installing, you need to apply atleast 1 seal coat also - this will prevet the stain from getting messed up during handling. My normal SOP on stained homes is to stain, spray sanding sealer, let the carpenter install, touch up stain as needed, putty, sand,dust, apply varnish,sand and recoat as needed.

As a diy project, I believe you would benifit from sanding and apply the 2nd coat of poly before installation. I agree with XSleeper that it makes mnore sense [quicker/easier] to stain and finish before cutting. Unless you sand any exposed cuts they will stain darker, I often cheat by thinning the stain some for those areas

[GaetanoL]

Originally Posted by marksr

My normal SOP on stained homes is to stain, spray sanding sealer.

What product do you use for this?

Originally Posted by marksr

... apply varnish...

Do you use polyurethane or a different varnish for trim?

[marksr]

I generally use sanding sealer for the 1st coat and varnish for the top coats. I buy mine at SWP but any paint store will have the equivalent. The reason I use sanding sealer is it dries faster and sands easier than polyurathane. Most polys aren't compatible with sanding sealer so I use varnish. Varnish doesn't dry as hard as poly but it allows me to do a nice acceptable job in the shortest/easist time frame.

That's not to say one coating is better than the other - they both have good points. It's up to you to choose which finish is best for you