Staining Poplar

[Crabbyboater]

I just read an article in Wood Magazine about a good way to stain poplar.  They recommended using gel stain, which is a very thick stain that needs to be rubbed on.  No sealer needed, and it hides the greenish colors often found in poplar, yet lets the grain show through.  Have any of you tried this?  If so, did it work for you?

[geneVG]

I asked the same question a while back about staining.  I think I will give that a try.  I use a lot of Poplar wood.  Thanks for the tip.

gene

[Gabby]

Crabby do they give a product name?

Gabby

[Crabbyboater]

Gabby, there was no mention of a product manufacturer, but I did a bit of Googling "Gel Stains" and got a bit more info.  Seems because it is thick, it doesn't do well when it comes to cracks and crevices, something most of our projects have.  Reviews were mixed, both pro and con.  I stopped at Lowe's today and bought a can of Minwax Gel, and I'll give it a try, let you know what I think later. 

[Crabbyboater]

First, a correction.  It wasn't Wood magazine where I saw the article, it was Woodsmith.

Now an update.  I did a test board (poplar) with the Minwax Cherry Gel tonight, half with that and half with just an oil.  The gel looked a LOT better than the plain oil.  Didn't show any blotching (oil did) and the gel did a good job of hiding the greenish cast of the poplar, showing the grain of the wood nicely. Like any other stain the end grains went quite a bit darker than the face of the wood.  I'm going to try it on my next project.

[Gabby]

First, a correction.  It wasn't Wood magazine where I saw the article, it was Woodsmith.

Now an update.  I did a test board (poplar) with the Minwax Cherry Gel tonight, half with that and half with just an oil.  The gel looked a LOT better than the plain oil.  Didn't show any blotching (oil did) and the gel did a good job of hiding the greenish cast of the poplar, showing the grain of the wood nicely. Like any other stain the end grains went quite a bit darker than the face of the wood.  I'm going to try it on my next project.

Sounds interesting. New options are always welcome. Could you show photos of the stain result versus the plain oil or any other tests you may have done?
Thanks,
Gabby