Tbow388 Posted June 4, 2021 Report Share Posted June 4, 2021 Was wondering what you guys thought Might look good on this. It is 3/4 Poplar. Stain, clear coat or teak oil. What say you? Woodrush, Dave Monk, Tomanydogs and 4 others 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RabidAlien Posted June 4, 2021 Report Share Posted June 4, 2021 I love the darker shades coming through, so I would probably do a dark stain on the backer and light or natural stain (or just a clearcoat) on the piece itself. Very nicely cut! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spirithorse Posted June 4, 2021 Report Share Posted June 4, 2021 Since my name and address for shipping was not one of the choices (wink) I would just clear coat it. Beautiful work! Thanks for sharing and God Bless! Spirithorse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
preprius Posted June 4, 2021 Report Share Posted June 4, 2021 I guess I am in a mood to be different. What would it look like if you stained the wolf light brownish, and the Indian clear? He should darken with clear coat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tbow388 Posted June 4, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2021 9 minutes ago, preprius said: I guess I am in a mood to be different. What would it look like if you stained the wolf light brownish, and the Indian clear? He should darken with clear coat. That would be super awesome. I could totally mess that up as I am zero good with finishing. I lack a little patience to spend a lot of time on finishing. heppnerguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
preprius Posted June 4, 2021 Report Share Posted June 4, 2021 ever use wipe on gel stain? It might be easier to control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tbow388 Posted June 4, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2021 Just now, preprius said: ever use wipe on gel stain? It might be easier to control. Never tried it. I will have to look into that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
preprius Posted June 4, 2021 Report Share Posted June 4, 2021 here is a quick phone edit of your picture. By quick I mean 1 minute, so it is crappy. I quickly picked light brown and tried to match a color to clear finish on poplar. Ok it was a guess. lawson56 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tbow388 Posted June 4, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2021 (edited) If I Darkened the wolf and brought out the darker parts of the poplar going through sitting bull it might look like this. (I am a Photoshop Guy by trade) I didn't use my thinker to know that I could add stain digitally to preview what something might look like. Edited June 4, 2021 by Tbow388 Added to it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
preprius Posted June 4, 2021 Report Share Posted June 4, 2021 (edited) nice that you play with Photoshop. Yep the user is getting smarter. And that shading is thinking different. Nice. Let's hear what others think. Edited June 4, 2021 by preprius added another comment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveww1 Posted June 4, 2021 Report Share Posted June 4, 2021 very nice job, I have no answer on the stain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankEV Posted June 4, 2021 Report Share Posted June 4, 2021 (edited) Lots of good suggestions above, BUT, Poplar is not the best wood to get a decent stain job on. On raw Poplar, stain will look "Blotchy". To get a nice uniform stain job, the Poplar it first needs to receive a coat of pre-stain conditioner. It is unfornutate the dark grain is across half of the cut are. The difference betyween dark and light will only be emphasized by ANY stain or finish. My suggestion would be to make the backer a dark brown, maybe a Walnut Stain or my preference would be a dark brown paint to eliminate any visable grane of the backer. I would then apply a Natural stain to the cut panel which will tend to change the color slightly to a nicer uniform slightly yellow tint and then apply a protective coat of either Lacquer or Poly after the panel/backer is assembled. And always apply the protective coat to the back of the backer as well to prevent any chance of warping due to uneven moisture absorbsion Poplar tends to darken over time if not finished with a good protective coat. If the cut panel had a uniform grain, like maple of white oak has, coloring by selective area staining of the Wolf and Indian Face would have been a very appropriate choice. However, I'm not convinced it will enhance this cut. BTW, very nice cutting. Edited June 4, 2021 by FrankEV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill WIlson Posted June 4, 2021 Report Share Posted June 4, 2021 I tend to agree with Frank on this one. The coloration of the poplar board will fight against any effort you make to stain it. It provides some visual interest and character, but I think the color should be left mostly natural, with a dark backer. Tbow388 and FrankEV 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawson56 Posted June 4, 2021 Report Share Posted June 4, 2021 Poplar is funny. I myself would Clear coat it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WolfmoonCT Posted June 4, 2021 Report Share Posted June 4, 2021 (edited) 19 hours ago, Tbow388 said: If I Darkened the wolf and brought out the darker parts of the poplar going through sitting bull it might look like this. (I am a Photoshop Guy by trade) I didn't use my thinker to know that I could add stain digitally to preview what something might look like. I cannot use photoshop to save my life. I only clear coat like 99% of my projects. I have done a couple of Sheila Landry candle trays which had some gel stain on parts (I love sheila landry designs..) But I like the natural beauty of the wood to shine throuigh. I use black backers to make stuff stand out. I primarly cut Cherry, Maple, Red Oak and Ash. I did buy some Hickory last time Just for giggles.. I plan on going back to get some qs sapele since it's their wood of the month and 10% off. I may pick up some walnut while there too, but most likely more ash, cherry, and maple. I did buy some of that quilted maple guitar seconds from the guy on FB.. the narrow pieces are very bowed. they bow up prob 3/4in over 21 inches..so I'll turn those into ornaments.. Wish I had helix head for my planer to get them thinner than 1/4". The wide boards have some cupping. over the width of 7" they cup just under 1/8". I have two projects that I'm working on for those right now. Just to see how the wood looks once it's got a nice finish on it. I have no plans to turn them into wider boards. I think they would just be too wavy. Edited June 4, 2021 by WolfmoonCT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tbow388 Posted June 5, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 5, 2021 Here the final is. Clear coated (like 99% of all my projects) and backed with a 100 year old piece of rusty tin. I love it. WolfmoonCT, heppnerguy and preprius 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe W. Posted June 5, 2021 Report Share Posted June 5, 2021 1 hour ago, Tbow388 said: 100 year old piece of rusty tin. Hmmmm, does that qualify as an antique then? Just kidding. Awesome cutting! Tbow388 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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