I used Sandeply plywood from Home Depot (on suggestion from their staff) and it was by far the worst crap I have ever used. This color, not so much.Īt first, I used the wrong material. When I have done this with Mahogany or Dark Walnut or Early American, I seem to have much better control and the final thing comes out rich with deep color. It's not that I haven't done this before, just not with such a light and sensitive color. Every time, I sand again with 400 grit sandpaper bertween coats of stain or dye to open the grain and get better color saturation and detail.Every time, I sand again with 400 grit sandpaper after conditioning (or sealing, lol).Every time, I pre-sand the 4x8 board with 120 then 220 careful not to take off the top veneer.Sanding Sealer then Gel Stain - really inconsistent and I just as well paint a faux finish on the boards.Sanding Sealer then Water or Oil Based Stain - laugh out loud lesson in not ever listening to YouTube idiots about Sanding Sealer-color would not take.

Oil Based Conditioner then Oil Based Stain - same thing, but the color was barely noticeable.Water Based Conditioner then Water Based Stain-inconsistent color and not attractive.I am on my 8th failed attempt to get a supposed 'Cabinet Grade' piece of 3/4' plywood from Home Depot or Lowe's to stain correctly. They would be attached to a black MDF panel attached to the wall with 3/4' gaps between them. Then I would cut it into strips of the various lengths and seal the edges to preserve the stripes in the material. My plan was to get a sheet of Baltic Birch 3/4' plywood that I could stain Golden Pecan and seal. On one wall, I have black cabinets that take up the majority of the wall-they look great and we are really happy with them.īehind the cabinets, I want to do a graduated series of horizontal slots (starting at 4.25' just above the counter and moving up to 1.5' just below the top cabinets (45'). It all used to be behind a tacky drop ceiling we immediately pulled out. The ceilings have lots of junction boxes, ducts, etc. I have a 12 foot room x 13 foot break area/kitchenette with 15 ft. Without enduring the suggestions of 'don't do it' or 'hire someone else to do it', can someone suggest some ways to handle this situation that are different from the ways that I have tried? So, like an idiot, I jumped in and have been getting my rearend handed to me over and over. There are tons of videos on DIY Slat Walls and the results for nearly every one of them are very special use cases that don't address things like cost, time, expertise, difficulty. I have a client that is in love with the extremely popular slat wall/slat ceiling look.

Diy wood shop slot wall