Keifer Posted December 14, 2017 Share Posted December 14, 2017 I’ve never worked with basswood and I’m wondering how it handles stain. Has anyone stained basswood with good results? Any tips? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SewMini Posted December 14, 2017 Share Posted December 14, 2017 I used basswood for my dining table. Took stain like a dream and didn't have to do anything special to it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felthen Posted December 14, 2017 Share Posted December 14, 2017 I made a batch of basswood kit furniture.I did seal the cut edges prior to staining as you would do for full size furniture, and it came out nice. The grain is fine enough for small scales which is good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fov Posted December 14, 2017 Share Posted December 14, 2017 Basswood stains fine but it has a very visible grain when it's stained, so it depends on what look you're going for. I think stained basswood looks great for trim. For furniture or something with a bigger visible surface (like a floor or tabletop) it can be hit or miss. Sometimes light stain doesn't show up well and dark stain comes out kind of blotchy. It also depends what stain you use. I'm not saying don't use it - I do all the time! But there are definitely nicer woods for staining, like cherry or maple, so it depends on how fancy you want to be and how easy it is to find those. If I could get cherry in all the sizes I can get basswood in from my local stores, I would. (Miranda - that table looks awesome!) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elsbeth Posted December 14, 2017 Share Posted December 14, 2017 I stained some 1/16th strips and it soaked it right up - was quite dark. I used these for trim and it was fine. Definitely test your stain. I am finging more and more as I make things that I need a relatively light stain to get the color I am wanting. Even the red oak stain pen at the store ends up looking very dark on these craft woods. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keifer Posted December 15, 2017 Author Share Posted December 15, 2017 Thanks everyone, I knew I would get some good answers from the group. Being a softer wood I thought it might soak up the stain quite a bit. Optional....if somebody wanted to give me a quick pros/cons list for basswood, that would be cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stickyfingers Posted December 17, 2017 Share Posted December 17, 2017 The biggest pro is that it's readily available and fairly inexpensive. Most all of the shaped mouldings (crown, baseboards, stair components) are made of bass. But it is soft, so the stain issues as above and you can lose some details if you're not careful sanding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elsbeth Posted December 17, 2017 Share Posted December 17, 2017 On 12/14/2017, 10:26:32, SewMini said: I used basswood for my dining table. Took stain like a dream and didn't have to do anything special to it. What shade of stain is that? It looks great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted December 17, 2017 Share Posted December 17, 2017 I used walnut on this dresser, bed & chiffarobe: I used maple on the dining table & chairs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keifer Posted December 17, 2017 Author Share Posted December 17, 2017 Holly, when you say walnut and maple...are you referring to the wood used or the stain used on the basswood? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted December 18, 2017 Share Posted December 18, 2017 48 minutes ago, Keifer said: Holly, when you say walnut and maple...are you referring to the wood used or the stain used on the basswood? The stain, I use basswood whether I'm making up a kit or building from scratch. The grain is small enough to work in scale; I even used it to make the 1:24 dining room set I made for my Fairfields (more maple stain): Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keifer Posted December 18, 2017 Author Share Posted December 18, 2017 Thank you. Good info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mineejv Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 I was just reading an old issues of Dollhouse Miniatures.They we’re taking about the fur that you get when you use a water based paint on basswood. After sanding and doing a second coat it makes it worse. They said to use a clear penetrating solvent base stain like Min-wax or tung oil......English Scatch Cover Furniture polish.........or wax shoe polish in the can (its a wax) so you don’t have to use lacquer over it. You allow the piece to dry and buffing it with fine steel wool. You can use black shoe polish over brown stain if you want an aged look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sable Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 9 minutes ago, Mineejv said: I was just reading an old issues of Dollhouse Miniatures.They we’re taking about the fur that you get when you use a water based paint on basswood. After sanding and doing a second coat it makes it worse. They said to use a clear penetrating solvent base stain like Min-wax or tung oil......English Scatch Cover Furniture polish.........or wax shoe polish in the can (its a wax) so you don’t have to use lacquer over it. You allow the piece to dry and buffing it with fine steel wool. You can use black shoe polish over brown stain if you want an aged look. I use a plain paper towel and rub the fur off. It’s almost like burnishing it. Others use crumpled brown bags. The wood comes out so smooth. It works very well on balsa too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fov Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 3 hours ago, Mineejv said: I was just reading an old issues of Dollhouse Miniatures.They we’re taking about the fur that you get when you use a water based paint on basswood. After sanding and doing a second coat it makes it worse. They said to use a clear penetrating solvent base stain like Min-wax or tung oil......English Scatch Cover Furniture polish.........or wax shoe polish in the can (its a wax) so you don’t have to use lacquer over it. You allow the piece to dry and buffing it with fine steel wool. You can use black shoe polish over brown stain if you want an aged look. Thanks for the tip! Are you supposed to use one of those before applying the water based stain, or after? I think after (otherwise wouldn't it interfere with the stain penetrating?), but just want to make sure I understand. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 I used water-based oak stain on both the Reallife Victorian parlor furniture kit pieces and HOM dining table & chairs without "fur". I did use the crumpled brown paper bag on it and then a coat of lacquer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mineejv Posted December 27, 2017 Share Posted December 27, 2017 Been off the grid for a few days...... They said not to use water base paint on basswood. Sometimes I don’t explain thing to good sorry. I’ll try the brown bag too. I wonder why the brown bag works? I’m going to try the shoe polish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathieB Posted December 27, 2017 Share Posted December 27, 2017 1 minute ago, Mineejv said: I wonder why the brown bag works? It is gently abrasive, knocks off the fuzz without digging into the surface. Brown bag, dry paper towel ... all the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted December 27, 2017 Share Posted December 27, 2017 10 hours ago, Mineejv said: ..They said not to use water base paint on basswood... Huh? I use water-washable latex & acrylic paints on everything without "fuzz". Am I missing something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathieB Posted December 27, 2017 Share Posted December 27, 2017 9 hours ago, Mineejv said: They said not to use water base paint on basswood. Who is "they"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mineejv Posted December 27, 2017 Share Posted December 27, 2017 By Ruth Armstrong in Dollhouse Miniatures magazine February 1998. She not “they” my bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mineejv Posted December 27, 2017 Share Posted December 27, 2017 This is why I could never be a blogger !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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