minor gloat and what to do with it?

Question

Contractor friend called me, said he had a little poplar left over from a job, he would drop it off if I wanted it. Said sure. He showed up with about 75 bdft of select poplar finish dimensioned to 1 x 6, and a few 1 x 4's, in lengths from 8' to 15'.

It is all perfect.

Generally, I've only used poplar for drawer sides, backs, dust partition frames, and other internal uses for my cherry, oak, and walnut furniture. I did do one sofa table for a womans beach house, but it had some shell carvings attached and was painted white to match the rest of her beach house furniture.

Has anyone used it for show, and what finish schedule seems to work best. Hate to hide this pretty wood.

Frank

Doug · Accepted Answer

I've always felt that poplar had a bad reputation. I recently went to a WW show up in Saratoga NY and there was a wood vendor there selling a beautiful slab of poplar with a creamy dark swoosh running through it. I did not buy it, but he had it on prominent display and it would be wasted for use as a secondary wood. I also find that poplar works beautifully, so I'd definitely get creative and have some fun making something out of it!

B A R R Y · Answer

I've faked cherry with it quite convincingly.

While I wouldn't do it with furniture, I did it as trim.

Think "maple or birch" when finishing, as it blotches. My fake cherry consisted of Solar Lux yellows and yellow orange dye stains barrier coated with shellac, light brown pigment wiping stains, and some color added to the clears to reach the final shades.

On the other hand, it makes GREAT drawer sides with no finish at all.

Doug Houseman · Answer

This may sound weird, but I did all the dressers and night stands in the master bed room in poplar and to finish them, I used 10 parts water to 1 part gray house paint (latex based) - then hosed it off. I painted the mix on with a 4 inch brush. After hosing off, I let it dry and then used

4 coats of poly. The end result is that the gray shows thru on the grain and in areas of sap wood. It gives the items a "sun baked" look according to my wife. It is now more than 15 years old and still going strong.

SonomaProducts.com · Answer

I built this "prototype" from Poplar and used General Finishes waterbased Rosewood stain and hand rubbed shellac. It came out so beautifulI keep it in my home.http://www.s

Frank Boettcher · Answer

barristers book case my Grandfather made many years ago.

Thanks to all for the ideas. Think I'll experiment with some finishes and use this very nice wood for something that shows. I currently need a bedroom set to replace kid's stuff (grown and gone). Maybe that is what it will become.

Frank

Swingman · Answer

"Frank Boettcher" wrote in messageA gel stain works quite well on poplar.

Toller · Answer

A few years ago a neighbor had their stairway replace and left a big pile of flawless spruce on the curb.  I couldn't leave it there, but couldn't find a use for it either.Last month a build a table to go behind our couch.  I made the top out of mahogany, with the rest out of the spruce stained to sorta look like the mahogany.  Since no one ever sees it, it is fine.  Saved a few bucks.

B A R R Y · Answer

It is a very nice piece, but mahogany is a wood that poplar dosen'timitate all that well.  You can color it the same, but the porestructure looks totally different.

minor gloat and what to do with it?

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