I don't have photos to actually prove this (I know, I know: no pic,
didn't happen), but I've had fairly good luck with mahogany gel stain on
poplar. It doesn't actually look like mahogany, but it doesn't look like
poplar, either. And I had to be pretty liberal with the stain and use
quite a few coats.

My next project will be poplar with milk paint. Never worked with milk
paint, so no idea what to expect there. I do enjoy working with poplar,
though, so it's a shame it's such a pain to do much with once the
construction is over. Agreed on the painting recommendation: it paints
really, really well.

J

On Wed, Jul 29, 2009 at 9:32 PM, Ken Vaughn wrote:
> Scott replies:
>
>> =A0It takes stain just as good. This kind of means it takes stain as
>> evenly and uninterestingly uniform as paint.
>
> It's a rare day when I disagree with Scott, but I have to on this one.
> Poplar, like most pine, absorbs stain unevenly and results in a
> blotchy finish. =A0Scott is right on about the paint finish, but I
> wouldn't use poplar for any application which requires a stain. =A0If
> you must stain poplar, use a gel stain and put it on pretty thick.
>
> Ken Vaughn
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