Q: Where can I get information on custom color stain? We can’t find the color we want for an entertainment center. Can you teach us how to mix our own? A: I can indeed, and in fact, have done so in all four of my books on finishing and many times in magazine articles. However, [...]
Some recent questions about using dye prompted me to post this very basic introduction to dyes and their use. Dye is a crystal that dissolves in a particular solvent. Many are sold in powdered form; others are pre-dissolved and sold in highly concentrated liquid form. There are also further diluted, ready to use, already mixed [...]
Q: I built a dresser with soft maple. I am ready to apply the finish which included a dye stain under a polyurethane top coat. I have been testing pieces to ensure that the wood will all look uniform and it does not. I have sanded everything to 220 and certain boards look like they [...]
Q: I was planning on using oil based wiping varnish atop waterbased stain. Do I need to use shellac in between? A: Nope. You can put oil based clear finish directly over any other finish, including waterbased acrylic, so there is no need for shellac or any other barrier coat between your waterbased stain and [...]
Q: I am building a bath vanity of quarter sawn oak. I stained it with a General Finishes waterbased stain. I’d like to pop the grain a bit. Normally I’d use BLO, but I don’t think I can, over the waterbased stain. A: The waterbased stain you reference, and in fact nearly all waterbased stains [...]
Q: I’m going to be finishing some cabinet doors with a water soluble aniline dye. The doors are simple frame and panel. Should I pre-stain the panels before assembling? A: I would. It is much easier to stain the panels before assembly, no matter what type of stain you are using. Staining first means the [...]
Q: I’ve heard applying a wash coat of shellac underneath water based dye can reduce blotching on hard maple. Would you recommend this? A: No, for a lot of reasons, but we really need to start by cleaning up the terminology, since in this field, it is very specific. I think you mean water soluble dye, [...]
Q: I want to refinish my cabinets with a waterborne sealer and topcoat but I want to use an oil-based wiping stain. Will the oil-based stain adhere to a waterborne sealer? A: It’s possible the correct question is just the opposite; will waterborne sealer adhere over oil based stain, and the answer is a definite [...]
Q: You brought a Canterbury color stain to a class you taught at Port Townsend. I have been looking for that color and can’t find it. A: I suspect that is because you remembered the wrong name. There may well be a Canterbury stain, since companies use all sorts of nonsensical names for stains, but [...]
Q: We would like to match the look of our twenty year old pre-finished oak flooring to a new unfinished oak staircase. We tried refinishing a small separate area of the original flooring and the grain looked very pronounced, unlike the original flooring. The original stain doesn’t make the grain as pronounced. The wood is [...]
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