Replies

1. 
   Dave45 | Oct 24, 2004 02:44am | #1

   No, they won't stain evenly, but that can look pretty good anyway.   Poplar (it doesn't have a "u", by the way) is usually used for paint grade projects since it machines very well and takes paint beautifully.  I use it for face frames, door rails & stiles, and drawer fronts on almost all of my paint grade projects.

   Just for fun, I once stained a piece of poplar scrap and was amazed at how well it worked.  I've used it for a couple of stain grade projects since but have been pretty picky about board selection.  I still haven't found a project (or customer) that is ready for purple, green, black, and creamy white wood all in the same piece. - lol

2. 
   Somertime | Oct 24, 2004 05:15pm | #2

   A few years ago someone gave me about thirty 10' boplar boards... about half of them were spalted.  I made a bunch of furniture for friends and stained it all with a light color.  Over time, the green, purple, and other colors have turned to ther respective shades of brown.  The contrast is quite nice. 

   Some of the other things I uesd only a tung oil rub and they have kept their almost greenish hue with some of the lighter purple and black streaks.  Our kitchen table however, sits in front of a large bay window that gets about 5 hours of direct sunlight, and it's lost all of it's highlights (but still looks very natural).

   I remember planing and cutting that stuff and being awed by the vivid purple colors that came out and the disapointment 10 minutes later when it would have already begun to fade.    

3. 
   wallysworkshop | Oct 24, 2004 05:42pm | #3

   I have used Poplar for several projects.  I find that pickling poplar gives a real nice look.  I use the cheapest white paint and water it down about 1/3, just brush it on and wipe it off right away.  This process can be used on other paint grade woods.  I have made pencil post beds, shaker tables, etc. and used this method.

   Wally

4. 
   CajunDan | Oct 25, 2004 08:31pm | #4

   I just finished a project with poplar and birch ply. In the past, I've had problems with stain blotching on poplar, so I tried something different.

   This time, I sprayed on Minwax Polyshades. This is the polyurethane with the color mixed in already. By spraying, I was able to control the color very well and even out the differences between birch and poplar grain.

   What I got was something that looked more like real cherry than anything I ever did with stain alone.

   Bon Chance,

   Dan

5. 
   Crunk | Oct 25, 2004 08:36pm | #5

   IT IS SPELLED, AND PRONOUNCED, "POPLAR"

   And it needs a stain controller applied first.

6. 
   Jimmbo | Oct 25, 2004 10:51pm | #6

   I stained poplar with polyshades, applied by brush, and the purple and green turned to darker brown streaks.  The color is not even by any means, but the pattern of the streaks was beautiful if you want that.  

7. 
   bushman1000 | Oct 26, 2004 06:04pm | #7

   An oltimer who taught me chairmaking and other things, finishing etc., used poplar to build a corner cabinet.  To insure that the colour of stain remained consistent on the whole piece, he applied a surface stain, like rez paste stain.  It does not penetrate as much, the colour more ar less settles into the grooves left by the last grade of sandpaper used on the wood.  Because of poplars constant grain reversal in growth, a penetrating stain will end up blotchy.  Another option is to use something to limit the way apenetrating stain soaks into the grain and then apply your stain.  Miniwax sells such a product, and many people use it on pine, which can have the same problem.

1. 
   SWW | Oct 26, 2004 07:52pm | #8

   If your goal is to blend Poplar with other woods, I would recommend using dye. I have had some success using this method to combine Poplar with Red Oak and White Ash. I first applied a weak red-ish dye to the Poplar, to cut the green. I then added brown dye to the clear finish that I applied over all, in order to tint it. (I used Polycrylic in one case and garnet shellac in another. I used TransTint dyes.) Nobody would be fooled into thinking that the Poplar was Oak, but the piece as a whole looked unified, and that was my goal.

   Be sure to sand the Poplar to a very fine grit before dyeing. You'll probably want to use water-based dye, so you'll also have to pre-raise the grain and re-sand (with the same fine grit). Pay special attention to the end grain. Burnish it with a very fine grit, in order to prevent the dye from soaking in too much and looking too dark.

   HTH