Corbel Finishing Tips
Your corbels are completely sanded and are ready for you to finish. Allow me to share a couple observations that I've made based on talking to customers and seeing pictures of their installed countertops. When customers mount their corbels to a half wall with a painted drywall finish, they tend to consider the corbels an architectural element (like the base molding) and therefore finish them to match their trim. On the contrary, when customers mount their corbels to a paneled island or peninsula, they tend to choose a finish that matches their cabinetry. Here are a few finishing tips:
- Our corbel braces (the concave or straight, diagonal member) are attached with screws and no glue. If you'd like, you may unscrew these to facilitate the finishing process. Please place a mark (like, a number) on the end grain of the brace and the same mark on the "L" to designate matching parts and it will be easier for you to reassemble them later. Also, the corbel's "L" joint is screwed and glued, so don't attempt to disassemble this portion.
- If you opt to stain your corbels to match your existing cabinetry, it may be obvious; but, we suggest that you start by ordering the same wood type. If we don't offer the wood type that you need, please give Tyler a call and he can discuss your options. Getting your stain to match perfectly can often be a difficult task, so we suggest you consider finding out what stain was used on your cabinets and hopefully purchasing some from the cabinet manufacturer. If this is not possible, you may want to bring a part of your cabinets (like, a drawer front) down to your local paint store and they may mix up a matching stain for you to purchase.
- We don't offer all of our corbels in a paint grade, sorry. If your corbel is not offered in paint grade, we suggest you purchase the maple model. Our paint grade models may contain discolorations and/or non-structural, filled knot holes. The brace and mounting plate portion may be maple or poplar. The "L" portion is always maple. Both maple and poplar are "tight, closed grain" woods, ideal for painting.