[jenplocher]

Did you do anything to protect the other edges of the cabinet box, like painter's tape? I'm not sure if stain will also stain the white melamine, and I don't want to learn the hard way if I happen to colorbeyond the lines!

Thanks!

[kmcg]

jen - I tried to stain the melamine, and it won't stain but it will discolor. So I do recommend taping off any parts that show.

kathy

[jenplocher]

Thanks for the reply Kathy - I am just trying to figure out the sequence here. My question assumes that the unfinished birch edge banding is applied first and then stained. Is that correct? Or could I stain the banding first and then iron it on the box? Maybe I will test-iron a small section of stained strip and see what happens...

[kmcg]

I've never done the stained edge banding, but it does sound much easier to stain before you apply. That should work, since the stain will have to hold up to worse abuse than a warm ironin the normal course of things.

Kathy

[Liz H]

jen - I look forward to reading how the prestaining works.

Is there a reason you're using white boxes instead of birch? I know some people prefer the look, I just wanted to be sure you know that they come in white or birch.

I'm thinking about Nexus birch for one area, and hadn't planned to edge band the birch melamine boxes.

[jenplocher]

Liz -

I know they come in white or birch, they just don't come in medium brown

We chose white boxes because I thought it would look more strange with lighter wood-tone inside the cabinets, as opposed to plain white, since we have medium brown doors. That's just my opinion.

So we are applying birch edge banding and staining to match the medium brown doors. I'm taking a break right now from removing the white melamine edging. Thus far I think I have done everything wrong but it's still going OK. I might have to write an "edgebanding for dummies" post after this is all over. The little test piece that I pre-stained and then ironed looks ok but I am going to dig for more info tomorrow.

[Liz H]

Duh! I knew I was missing something. You don't stain birch if you want it to look like birch.:blush: Glad to hear you don't have to be an expert to make this work.