Dyann

HI,
This is my first time here and I could really use some help. I had someone make me some beautiful new hard maple bathroom cabinets which I thought he was going to finish as well. He informed me he's not a finisher so I'm on my own.
What I want to achieve is a caramel stain with a mocha glaze on hard maple, both solid wood and maple plywood, to look like high end cabinets.
I've been looking on other forums but they were for professionals and they used a lot of abbreviations and didn't provide any exact product names so I don't know any more now than I did days ago.
I've done some finishing but basically I'm a novice and could use some "instructions for dummies" :)
So if there's anyone out there that could provide me with step by step instructions and the brands and names of the best products use I'd be so grateful!

Rob

Hi Dyann,
I guess knowing what I know about getting the best finish, in the color and tone you want, I would suggest one of two things. The first would be to hire it out to a professional. The second would be to buy a couple of finishing books by either Jeff Jewitt or Bob Flexner.
If you want to do it yourself, get a fair amount of scrap that the cabinetmaker used so you are experimenting with the same wood. Try different stains, glazes and finishes to see what comes out just right. remember to write down every step you took so you can repeat it when it comes to doing the real thing.
This process may take up to a week to accomplish, so be patient.
I wish I could waive a magic wand and give you some better advice but without knowing your skill level, equipment on hand, etc, it's tough to give you a good answer to your question.
Someone else may come along and give you step by step instructions on what you need to do.
Good luck and be patient!

__________________
Never lick a steak knife.

Jlight

I like aniline dyes on maple. I'm not sure it will give you the "mocha glaze look" you want though. Dye really pops the grain vice covering it up as most stains will do.

I like dyes because maple is one of the toughest woods to stain. It will blotch horribly almost instantly if done wrong...and you'll have nice painted cabinets. I have found dyes to be a thousand times easier. Definitely use test pieces of the plywood and maple.

I use lots of figured maple...solid wood and veneer. Instead of staining to get the look of "high end", I look for finishes that will leave the wood as white (natural) as possible. Nothing is more high end than AAAAA fiddle back in its natural color after several coats of wipe-on poly (Minwax) and some quality time with the polisher.

At any rate, you are wise to do some research and get some books before you make an irreversible mistake.

Dyann

Rob,
Thanks for responding. I guess what I was looking for was what brand of stain is good to get a caramel color. I never see that listed as a color choice yet most f the better brands of custom cabinets list that as a color. So I was asking what colors do I mix together to get that.
Secondly, I'm obviously on a tight budget or I'd hire someone so I have to do this myself and I think with instructions I can.
I already bought clear glaze but I know you need to add something to it to make it mocha colored glaze. I was hoping someone knew that.
I also have read about sealer coats and topcoats and what to do in between and I was hoping for definitions of sealer coat i.e. varnish? shellac? What is the sealer coat and best type to use and the same for topcoat. How does it differ from sealer coat and what type and brand are recommended by professionals.
I had hoped someone could say first mix color X and Y of Brand Z stain and you will get a nice caramel color. After stain dries apply one layer of topcoat which is shellac and ___ is the best brand. Then mix ___ with the clear glaze to get a mocha glaze and apply with a rag etc etc. etc.
I guess I thought someone might know where to get the colors I want and how to mix them and the order to apply everything so I can get as close to a professional finish as possible.
As I said in my first post, I'm fairly handy and I really believe I can do a good job of this if I have instructions.
I've been to specialty woodworking stores and they are just rather vague and I actually read some really good steps on a post by a professional but it wasn't the colors I was looking for and he used some appreviations I'm not familiar with and wasn't specific about defining topcoat vs. sealer coat because the other person knew the difference.
I don't but I'm a fast learner:):)
Thanks again

Buffalo Bilious

Dyann

Trying to describe a color or tint over the 'net is obviously a losing proposition...

I'd 2nd the suggestion that you ask your builder for as much of the scrap wood as possible. That way, you can experiment with different tints/stains/finishes to figure out exactly what you want your cabinets to look like.

Honestly, even a pro furniture finisher would still need to fiddle around with a few combinations in order to discover what your looking for.

Again, get that scrap wood and have some fun with it. It might cost you a few bucks in terms of buying what you may not need, but in the end, you'll get what you want.

Where in Michigan are you? If you're in the Detroit area, there's the Rockler store in Royal Oak that you may want to check out... they're pretty helpful when it comes to that kind of stuff.