Coop Posted May 24, 2021 Share Posted May 24, 2021 My wife is wanting an armoire to take up a corner of of our recently enlarged bedroom. I find myself at her mercy in that she wants it painted as in distressed, antiqued or whatever they call it. Plans are to use 1/2” ply for the side panels, 3/4” hardwood for the frames and 3/4” hardwood for the doors and drawer fronts. It will be 72” tall and 42” wide and 20” deep. I am toying with between birch ply and maple for the hardwood or birch for both. Is there an argument for the hardwood? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted May 24, 2021 Share Posted May 24, 2021 1 minute ago, Coop said: My wife is wanting an armoire to take up a corner of of our recently enlarged bedroom. I find myself at her mercy in that she wants it painted as in distressed, antiqued or whatever they call it. Plans are to use 1/2” ply for the side panels, 3/4” hardwood for the frames and 3/4” hardwood for the doors and drawer fronts. It will be 72” tall and 42” wide and 20” deep. I am toying with between birch ply and maple for the hardwood or birch for both. Is there an argument for the hardwood? None from me on a painted piece! I would give Alder a look as it's currently the cheapest species for me.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted May 24, 2021 Author Share Posted May 24, 2021 I thought alder but find it lowest on the hardness scale at 590. Beech, ash, birch and soft maple are all within the same hardest and price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted May 24, 2021 Share Posted May 24, 2021 5 minutes ago, Coop said: I thought alder but find it lowest on the hardness scale at 590. Beech, ash, birch and soft maple are all within the same hardest and price. It is on the soft side but, Poplar is at 540 and is often the paint grade "hardwood" of choice. How much "abuse" are you really expecting for this piece? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted May 24, 2021 Author Share Posted May 24, 2021 Agreed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted May 24, 2021 Share Posted May 24, 2021 I talked with Steve once about hardwoods to be painted. His number one choice was maple. I used maple one my kitchen cabinet doors when I did the renovation last fall. Primes and paints real nice, I highly recommend it. 2 Quote "Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." - Epicurus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted May 24, 2021 Share Posted May 24, 2021 14 minutes ago, Chet said: I talked with Steve once about hardwoods to be painted. His number one choice was maple. I used maple one my kitchen cabinet doors when I did the renovation last fall. Primes and paints real nice, I highly recommend it. Maple is certainly a great choice! Up to you if the minor difference in cost is a factor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodenskye (Bryan) Posted May 24, 2021 Share Posted May 24, 2021 Poplar is another HW that takes paint well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keggers Posted May 24, 2021 Share Posted May 24, 2021 I agree with Bryan. Poplar takes paint very well. I've never painted maple or wanted to. That's my 2 cents worth. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted May 24, 2021 Share Posted May 24, 2021 I have used a fair amount of poplar for painted projects and find that it takes paint great, does not break the bank from a cost perspective, and its one of only a few woods I have no issues painting 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted May 25, 2021 Author Share Posted May 25, 2021 Then poplar it is. I was really dreading painting maple. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie Posted May 26, 2021 Share Posted May 26, 2021 In the past using poplar on painted products it tends to be a little fuzzy, maple would be my choice. Around here can get soft maple which is still possibly harder than poplar pretty reasonable and no fuzzies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted May 26, 2021 Author Share Posted May 26, 2021 I thought about that. Wonder if using a water based sanding sealer prior to the pa#*t would help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted May 26, 2021 Share Posted May 26, 2021 Just now, Coop said: I thought about that. Wonder if using a water based sanding sealer prior to the pa#*t would help? You may very well just getting away with raising the grain first with water and then sanding back.. A simple test on scrap will answer that for you.. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted May 26, 2021 Share Posted May 26, 2021 Just now, Coop said: I thought about that. Wonder if using a water based sanding sealer prior to the pa#*t would help? When I did my kitchen I primed the maple, I wanted to make sure the paint bonds 1 Quote "Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." - Epicurus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted May 26, 2021 Author Share Posted May 26, 2021 The maple is $4.15 bf and the poplar is 2.45 and that is from a year old price sheet. I have a rough materials list and will call tomorrow for firm pricing. What I ought to do is give her $500 and tell her to buy one that she likes but I’m kinda up for the challenge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted May 26, 2021 Share Posted May 26, 2021 2 minutes ago, Coop said: The maple is $4.15 bf and the poplar is 2.45 and that is from a year old price sheet. I have a rough materials list and will call tomorrow for firm pricing. What I ought to do is give her $500 and tell her to buy one that she likes but I’m kinda up for the challenge. lol.. It actually sounds like a fun build but, I certainly understand your thinking! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Posted May 26, 2021 Share Posted May 26, 2021 Put a coat of shellac on poplar, it won't raise the grain, and then paint. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted May 26, 2021 Author Share Posted May 26, 2021 I hate painting baseboards, much less semi-rough furniture. Upside is that she doesn’t want anymore walnut in the bedroom, especially at the going price! Jamie, you did bring up an interesting point about the fuzzies and Kev about raising the grain. And I don’t want to use solvent based anything on this due to the smell and environment (clean up). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Posted May 26, 2021 Share Posted May 26, 2021 Shellac is alcohol base, has very little voc, dries extremely fast and is very easy to clean up. This is especially true if you use flakes and mix it yourself. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted May 26, 2021 Author Share Posted May 26, 2021 I keep forgetting about shellac even though Chet tries his best to keep it in front of me👍. So I’ve never used shellac with water based paint. And I can spray the shellac. Does it need to be the dewaxed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted May 26, 2021 Author Share Posted May 26, 2021 1 minute ago, Bob said: Shellac is alcohol base, has very little voc, dries extremely fast and is very easy to clean up. This is especially true if you use flakes and mix it yourself. And I have plenty of the dewaxed flakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Posted May 26, 2021 Share Posted May 26, 2021 3 minutes ago, Coop said: Does it need to be the dewaxed? Not sure but I would think so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted May 26, 2021 Author Share Posted May 26, 2021 That’s ok as that’s what I have! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted May 26, 2021 Share Posted May 26, 2021 10 minutes ago, Coop said: I keep forgetting about shellac even though Chet tries his best to keep it in front of me👍. So I’ve never used shellac with water based paint. And I can spray the shellac. Does it need to be the dewaxed? Yes, dewaxed if you go the shellac route.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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