Staining and glue question

[Jeff Lien]

I am building a bookcase out of red oak with face frames glued to the solid wood carcass, all surfaces will be visable.

Question:
Should I stain the wood before gluing up to keep the glue from soaking in and if I did this will the glue have good adhesion or what is the best way to prevent glue from messing up the finish?

thanks, Jeff

[Leo Graywacz]

No need to stain the wood first. Just do a good sanding job and you should be home free. If you want you can stain and clear the inside of the cabinet to make things easier on yourself in case there is some glue squeeze out between the face frame and the carcase. Then you should be able to wipe it off with a damp rag with no ill effects.

[Jim Becker]

Glue (PVA) needs to be mated with bare wood. An oil based stain will inhibit that situation as many contain a small amount of varnish that acts as a binder...and consequently as a sealer to some point. If you choose to pre-finish, you should mask off any areas that are to be inside a glue joint. There is nothing wrong with doing it that way...I often take this approach for cabinetry as I prefer to pre-finish panels flat before assembly, but take the time to mask edges and other gluing areas accordingly.

It's also critcal that you do not have any glue remaining on any surface that you will be finishing. While you can use a damp rag as Leo mentions, with an open grain wood like oak, that can leave some glue in the pores. I prefer to mask inside corners so that squeeze-out goes on the tape instead of the wood and also allow the glue to partially dry...and then use a scraper to easly remove it. In that manner, you're not rubbing it into the pores with the rag. You can check for any remaining glue prior to finishing using a rag/towel to wipe on some mineral spirits or denatured alcohol...which will reveal any glue on the wood as well as give you an idea about what the color will be once your clear coating commences.

[Jeff Lien]

Thanks Jim and Leo for the reply and good information Jeff