Birch plywood cabinet, staining it black

[Sarver Systems]

I'm going for a black cabinet, but I still want the woodgrain to show through.

Does anyone here have an experience with black wood stain?

This is the effect I am aiming for:

[dkersten]

oak stained black looks like that.. stain black 2 coats and then laquer or varnish for whatever shine you want.

Poplar stained black looks black.. but poplar has almost no grain to it which is why it is used as a paint grade mill lumber. 

[Sarver Systems]

It might not be poplar then. Maybe its maple?

It does have some grain to it, I'll have to take come pics.

[dkersten]

maple is also exceptionally smooth, so when stained like this might have some variation in depth but no real grain showing through..

[ebarlow99]

its birch ply from home depot

[Sarver Systems]

Birch, thanks Eric. I couldn't remember for sure.

And you should know, you built it!

[ebarlow99]

its good stuff..... I stained one cherry and it came out nice so im assuming the black will too

[dkersten]

Yeah you will see the grain with birch, but keep in mind it is a soft wood with soft grain, so while you will get the variation, you won't get as much of the "shiny to flat" variation as you see in your sample pic.  it should still be obvious it is wood though.  Also if you use a water base stain and don't sand after it is dry, you will get some raised grain that will further the "wood" effect.  And if you only go with one or two coats of the stain, the softer parts will absorb more and the harder parts of the grain will come across more gray.  The best thing to do is experiment to make sure you are getting the effect you want.  Take a scrap and stain it.  Don't assume you know how it will look until you apply a finish either.. It is amazing what a difference a coat of varnish or lacquer can make..

[Sarver Systems]

I was going to stain one of the panels on the inside first with 1 coat, then another panel with 2 coats, then decide which I liked better.

THe stain I have in mind has the clearcoat built in, but I would probably clear it again anyways.

[dkersten]

in my experience, that stuff takes FOREVER to dry.. and you really need to brush it on and do a really good job with it.  Regular stain you can wipe on with a rag, let set for about 20 mins, wipe off, let dry for about 40 more minutes, then hit it again.  About 3 hours later you can either brush on a poly or varnish coat, or spray a lacquer.  If you can get the spray cans of quick dry lacquer, they work pretty darn good.

[michelevit]

I've done the black stain. I used rustoleum satin black in a can.  Thin heavily with acetone or laquer thinner. Came out great. Work outside. Wear a respirator . Wear gloves. Dries fast. I like to spray with this gun. Top coat with Deft Laquer.

http://www.harborfreight.com/adjustable-detail-spray-gun-92126.html

http://www.harborfreight.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/i/m/image_15072.jpg

[Sarver Systems]

I just brushed it on with a disposable foam brush. If I were doing a bunch of cabs, I would invest in a sprayer.

So far it looks great!

[Sarver Systems]

Well, the stain looked great until I did one of the panels on a very humid day. That panel turned out totally different than the rest.

So, I resanded, and painted it black with a small roller.

Surprisingly, I can still see the woodgrain through, and it looks more like what I was trying to achieve than it did with the stain!