# Applying wood stain to the inside of cabinets



## niall Y (16 Feb 2022)

Just come in from the workshop, where I've been applying some Walnut stain to a couple of shelving units.Trouble is, it's a bit like a "magic colouring book" - where there are undetected residues of glue, the stain has gone on darker. Which is definitely not the look I'm after.
Despite, my best efforts at removing all traces of glue - the stain high-lights all those missed bits - which is a PIA.
I'm curious as to how others tackle this problem. I was taught, years ago, to entirely finish the insides of cabinets, before gluing up. Any residues of the glue, usually Cascamite, was then easily removed when dry. But it's not always convenient to do this. 
I remember discussing this with someone who had a 'stripped pine' business,And he admitted to putting his furniture together with pins, screws and staples - not glue, So avoiding this problem when he applied the Antique pine stain at the finish


----------



## Droogs (16 Feb 2022)

If I am going to be using a glue type that I know can be problematic when it comes to applying a finish after gluing up, I dry assemble parts and then use blue decorators tape to mask off the areas around the joint. This means that when I assemble the piece with the glue, any squeeze out will sit on top of the tape and not touch the wood at all. Then when almost set but still a little flexible I peel the tape away after scooping up any beading with a straw run along the joint.


----------



## niall Y (17 Feb 2022)

Hi, Droogs
Thanks for the reply. Interesting that you've gone for the for a taping option. The piece that I'm working on has about 60 glued joints, some would need taped both sides, that is. 4 strips of tape for each joint. A rough calculation says I would have to have applied 180 strips of tape. I'm sure that there has to be a quicker way, that is just as effective.
I know that others, apply a sealer first. Then I suppose you're staining the sealer - not the wood. I've probably not helped myself by using a spirit stain, which is quite tricky to apply. In the past I've used stain in the finish to enhance the colour of the wood. Not sure how effective this would be, when going for a drastic colour change. Cheers Niall
I


----------



## Droogs (17 Feb 2022)

You can use one piece of wide tape, stick it to one side and then use a square block to push into the joint and then run a knife along. That way you cover both edges at the same time. half the work. Doing this is not seen by me as any extra work as I do a lot of marquetry work and can end up having hundreds of bits of tape all over the place at times. But if I know that I am definitely going to be spraying a sealer or dye/stain or paint after assembly, I tape off. I have had too many projects that have had to have a lot of remedial work due to unseen/noticed glue deposits being unseen until after the final finishes and then it becomes tedious

Have been known to do it visa versa and tape off the joint area and apply finish first and then rub a little beeswax 1/2 " around the joint area take off the tape and glue up. Then any extra glue residue can be removed fairly easily


----------



## Sgian Dubh (17 Feb 2022)

niall Y said:


> I was taught, years ago, to entirely finish the insides of cabinets, before gluing up. Any residues of the glue, usually Cascamite, was then easily removed when dry. But it's not always convenient to do this.


With that many joints I'd say it seems like your best bet is to use a methodology much as described in your quotation. You could modify it a bit by applying stain or dye, followed by at least one base coat of polish, then do your glue up. After assembly, remove glue squeeze out, and finish polishing. If it's difficult to complete the polishing because of awkward access with only a base coat of polish on the internal parts, the other option is, as described above, completely finish those parts before the final glue up assembly. Slainte.


----------

