Stain before or after assembly?

[plin321]

I'm building a TV/stereo cabinet and have got all of the pieces cut and jointed. All I need to do now is assemble, sand, stain and finish with clear coat.

I understand that it's best to stain before assembly, but I'm wondering if the stain will affect the glue's ability to bond during subsequent assembly. If so, should masking tape be used to prevent staining the surfaces to be glued?

Should the clear coat be applied before assembly as well, or perhaps the order should be stain > assemble > clearcoat?

If anyone can recommend a good site for wood finishing tips, I'd also appreciate it. Thanks.

[Mark & Juanita]

Absolutely, you *don't* want stain or any other finish interfering with the adhesion of the glue.

I would put all the finish you intend to use,up to and including one coat of wax before assembly. It is just easier that way and the results look much better. It's kind of a pain as you have to be very careful with the pieces following the finishing step, but not having corners or other trouble spots makes it worth it.

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ If you're gonna be dumb, you better be tough +--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

[Toller]

I almost never finish before assembly. The exception would be where I will have to sand, but know it won't be practical. Usually you can let difficult corners slide a bit.

[Robatoy]

Stain and clear coat as much as you can before assembly. Tape off the areas that will be glued later. 1/4" masking tape is really handy. That works for me... but YMMV

[B A R R Y]

Yes.

No, maybe, and yes.

Some parts (or subassemblies) are better off finished before assembly, like panels that can shrink and show edges, hard to reach parts like skinny & deep shelves, etc... Shelves often need to be clearcoated before assembly if you can properly reach inside with your finishing method. The same panel that I'll pre-stain will probably get clearcoated along with everything else.

Stain and/or finish the parts that need it ahead of time, and save time and make your life easier by doing the rest all at once. It all depends on the particular piece.

An excellent book:

In the book, Jefff describes and shows finishing planning in detail and photos.

[B A R R Y]

Sorry, I meant "CAN'T" reach.

For instance, I can reach inside a shoe cubby well enough to wipe varnish, but not well enough to spray.

If I were spraying, I'd do it before assembly. I'd apply wiping varnish after assembly. Both instances would be stained before glue up, if they were being stained at all.

[Leon]

I prestain on floating panels or only in very hard to reach areas. Other than that I typically sand and stain last. You learn to recognize when staining before is best for you and when it is better after assembly. Neither before or after is technically correct.