Just made a few speaker stands. I would like to stain them to blend in with the rest of the furntutre i have. But how do i do it. I know i have read you sand it once and then put some sealent on it and sand it again and then repeat a few times.

Is their any special stain i need to buy for MDF. Or any other stuff i need to know. I was going to stain a peice of scrap and see how it turns out with the stain i think what would most fit in and see how that works out before i do anything major.

Thanks for any info.

[sbowler]

Sand then seal with PVA and stain, if you want it darker repeated coats of stain.

PVA would be what.And spray or brush it on. New to this building stuff.

Thanks.

[johndon]

PVA is white glue - dilute some in water and brush on.

John

[Spoonboy90]

Originally Posted by sbowler

Sand then seal with PVA and stain, if you want it darker repeated coats of stain.

If you seal with PVA would the stain then not take effect, the idea of stain it to soak into the wood, which wouldnt happen once sealed with PVA or am I wrong?

Originally Posted by johndon

PVA is white glue - dilute some in water and brush on.

John

PVA is Polyvinyl Acetate, its a glue, the white stuff that you used to stick stuff in primary school, its white but drys clear

[Jammyb]

I thought that, surely you'd use PVA if you were painting. For staining I would have thought sand, give it a quick wipe with some white spirit maybe, then stain, repeat if neccessary, then light varnish to seal it. I dunno though, that's just how I'd do it.

Well i would like some help from some people that have actally stained some MDF if at all possible

Thanks.

[GasDad]

Originally Posted by paul mathews

Well i would like some help from some people that have actally stained some MDF if at all possible

Thanks.

I have tried it a few years ago (funky kids furniture) and found it near enough impossible to achieve a nice result with normal MDF.

The problem is the smooth face of the boards, this will accept stain in a totally different way to the cut edges and so you end up with different colours. If you want a dark colour, this is probably less of a problem, as you can just soak the stuff in stain repeatedly.

Otherwise, assuming you have cut edges showing (you can probably design so they don't) I would try and seal the edges first with PVA to match the porosity between the edges and the faces.

Experiment on an offcut first perhaps.

I actually gave up and used pre-stained MDF (you get a choice of around 12 colours from memory) which worked well.

James

[mhuk05]

Or use a coloured varnish and apply with a lint-free rag. Sand lightly between coats.

I did make some side tables and did as you said and designed it so the cut bits where at the rear and genraly not in sight.

The Speaker stand is a WHOLE different story though. Pretty much impossible to do that with that. But ill experiment and see what kind of horrrrrrible mess i come outwith. Ill post pics so people can laugh at my Obomination


Thanks.

[mhuk05]

You can also try applying your own veneer.

I was thinking about veneer. But iam not that great at things like that. I would need some tools as well. I think it would look alo tworse when iam finished with it

Then again how easy is it to apply ?

Thanks.

[mhuk05]

You can get iron-on sheets. All you need is an iron, a big file (to snap off the excess) a blade for any extra trimming and fine sand paper. You use the file at 90 degrees to the edge and use it to remove any excess veneer e.g. run it along the edge of the wood.

ILl get some and do a test on some scarp if the stainign dont turn out well

Thanks.

[banners]

In the few times I've used stain on mdf I've done the following:

Sealed the faces and edges with PVA mixed with a little water - 2 parts PVA to 1 part water IIRC. Allow to dry, rub down and repeat to achieve a smooth finish. This should give you a stable surface to work on. I've used a paint brush and a Foam roller to apply this mixture.

Apply your choice of stain or coloured varnish to the now uniform surface. I've mixed various varnishes' to acheive the colour I've wanted. Mix the colour to lighter than you probably want, then apply more coats to get the depth and colour to increase

When happy with the results allow to fully dry and then apply clear varnish if you want to alter the finish from gloss/satin/matt as desired.

I quickly gave up on trying to create a 'grain' to the surface

Steve

Thanks mate ill give it a go.

Thanks from Australia.

[banners]

Heres a quick piccy of one of my previous efforts:

Steve

[banners]

BTW, I couldn't decide as to whether to go ported or sealed, so I made provision for both! The ports were eventually filled with mdf blanks and car body filler, hence the two dark circles.

Steve

Nice front loading washign machine. Whats that got to do with an AV forum


BAHAHHAHA.

Anyways my side tables and speaker stands are ready for a sand and then who knows !!!


Easter Sunday today have no idea if the hardware shop will be open. Ill drop down at able 9 am and have a look. If its open ill grab some stain and sand paper and experiment on some scrap


Thanks all.


I might even apply some venner arround the cut edges. Just some light stuff and then try to blend it in with the stain on the big areas. Might look alot better and alittle funky even if the colours are not perfectly blended.

Well thats my idea.

Thanks all.



Heres my speaker stands. Nothing special as you can see and my first try at building speaker stands. They are practical and work as they should. Probalby theink they are **** but they are mine

http://img137.imageshack.us/my.php?i...tand2684yc.jpg

Just thought i woudl show you what iam doing. Notice the futon dark colour next to it. Dont want it that dark But just alittle darkish.

Bye.

Please dont give up on me yet

Iam doing my experiment. I got a scap piece of MDF and sanded it ALOT. The cut sidesi gave a REAL good sand too try to seal it as much as possible. So the stain can't soak in to Much.

I then gave it a rub down with some turps with a rag. To get rid of the dust and ****. Recomended by the can

The i did a coat of stain. Colour new Baltic pine. I used a brush, though i have a roller and will try that on my next experiment to see if it makes any difference. I would hope it makes agrain look.Atleast somthing like it.



The sample i have now looks ok. I gave it a nice good sand and it lightened the colour a fair bit. I was alittile concorned that it was to dark. But it looks ok. Iam just leaving it now to see if it fades any. maybe i will need to do another coat before i seal it.

I was told to do a coat of diluted PVA glue before iput the stain on. is this realy nessary. And if so what does it do ???


Thanks for all your help you wonderfull helpfull people :P

Another Nice warm Day In Australia. Damn this country !!!!

Thanks again.

[Knightshade]

Hi Paul,
It may be a bit late in the day but you may find Rustins MDF sealer. It works well with oil based finishes. I have to say I haven't tried it with stain.
Also (And you're going to hate me) why not make it out of the wood you want? I know it will be a bit dearer than MDF but probably not that much. There are quite a few timber merchants stocking more exotic woods. You may be pleasantly surprised at the prices.
Nice design by the way.

Thanks man. First person that said the stand looks any good

I did a side table wih a roller with some baltic pin stain and it looks pretty good.It even looks like it has a grain to it as well. Not much of a grain but enough. Though i might give it a sand to see what affect that has on it, then seal it.

Now iam trying to figure out what kind of sealent to use.


/PS iam just glad the thing did not fall over when i added the speakers. It was my first speaker build ever. I thinki lucked out on a Design that did not fall over myself

Thanks man.

It least i made a thead that might be usefull to others who will use MDF. The reason i used MDF is i dont build things. My first go realy. So i did not want to waste money on more expensive wood i might Butcher :o


Ill post some pics of the side table and Speakers when their done.

Bye.