Alder for night stand

[John S. Genzer]

I plan to make a second nightstand, this one out of Alder. Never worked with Alder. I am still old school and prefer stains over dyes(no experience w/dyes). This night stand is for a grandaughter who hasnt yet decided on a light or dark stain. Ok. My process has been to stain (2 coats), then wax free shellac (5-8 coats wiped on then fine snad last coat) then waterlux (2 coats fine sand between). I don't have spray equipment.

I saw somewhere that Alder staining could be blotchy.

Thanks,
John

[Brent Ring]

My experience with alder was to seal it with a very thin coat of dewaxed shellac, sand back a bit, and then stain. Dyes will probably be more even, but that is what I did and put a dark walnut stain on it. My son was very happy!

[Brian Hughner]

+1 on the Shellac wash coat. Just finished some alder kitchen cabinets that were done using a shellac wash coat followed by stain. I used a gel stain to also help control blotching.

[Rob Sack]

I've used alder for years. It can be stained to mimic cherry and walnut, not to mention easily accepting stains in general. Sealcoats are important, especially for darker and /or penetrating finishes as blotching can be a problem. Keep in mind that it is generally quite soft and dents easily. For distressed cabinetry and furniture, it is ideal.