Glue and staining

[GMax]

Hi. I am making my first dollhouse; a half scale Tennyson. The instructions say to use a hot glue gun and I am finding this very messy. Most on this forum seem to prefer wood glue. Pros and cons?

I am also planning to stain the whole house instead of paint. Should I stain the pieces before gluing?

Thanks for helping out a newbie. 
Geraldine

[Mid-life madness]

Your directions must be from an old kit. They no longer recommend hot glue. It won't hold together for very long. Definitely use wood glue. The glue needs to be used on raw wood, but stain won't stain over glue.....So now you are in a bit of a pickle! . I like this brand of Titebond https://www.amazon.com/Titebond-3703-Cross-Linking-Polyvinyl-Acetate/dp/B001DT5IPO/ref=asc_df_B001DT5IPO/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=198097826602&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7976206525150166761&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9030810&hvtargid=pla-319034446209&psc=1

If just depends on how neatly you can stain or how neatly you can glue....Personally I would build first then stain. Just try not to ooze or drip too much glue glue.

[havanaholly]

I stain first, let the stain dry thoroughly, then glue.

[KathieB]

Hi, Geraldine, welcome to the forum!

Wood glue works best on raw wood but will hold on stained wood, especially if you sand it a bit in the spots that need to be glued. But to be sure of a good result, I would stain before assembly leaving the edges that will be glued clear of stain. 

If you put the house into a dry fit (assemble using masking or painter's tape but no glue), you can run a pencil mark along the joints so you will know where not to stain when you take it apart. This is an extra step, but well worth the effort in the long run. 

You really should take apart the bits that are hot glued and start over. The directions were done long ago, when hot glue was a different chemical compound. Today's hot glue will get brittle and shrink over time, leaving your house to tumble down.   Use a hair dryer or heat gun (carefully!) to soften the hot glue, then a thin palette knife or putty knife to gently pry the pieces apart.

[havanaholly]

I do another tedious step in the process, cutting painters'/ masking tape into strips the width of the wood pieces and after Ive drawn the lines with the house in dry fit I tape off the parts I don't want to get stain or primer on.  Where I stain and then glue is with making furniture.