> Hey guys, another "For What It's Worth" here. I've done a lot of
> cabinet building in the past and we've solved ,for the most part, the
> problem of color variations when applying finishes by useing a
> "Washcoat" on the bare wood first. With softer woods such as
> pine and redwood this was always a problem. With our laquer and
> polyeurothane(sp?) finishes we would apply a washcoat of 7 parts denatured
> alcohol and 1 part varnish. This tends to seep into the softer grains more
> readily and not into the harder sections. The alcohol helps it and then
> evaperates. A light sanding to eliminate the fuzz and you'd stain or
> clearcoat and the wood would keep most or all of the color you wanted.
> BUT, I don't know if this is compatable with the resins so you would want
> to test a piece of your scrap and see if you have any reactions before
> proceeding.

> "More food for thought" Rehd

I've found that a little bit of water will accomplish the same thing, and in a few minutes it is dry, especially with red cedar, don't know about redwood.

Mike