Stain Gurus, 2 Cents Please.

moorewarner

Any finish guys out there I would appreciate any feedback on a current project I am finishing up.

This was a small trim replacement job (water damage) for a HO so it entailed matching of her existing trim. I have done a little stain work before but no matching, a new challenge.

I didn't fully realize how deep and mysterious the world of finishing was.

http://picasaweb.google.com/Clifton....eat=directlink

So the pic with the piece laying diagonally is the final result, the diagonal piece is the original trim.

What I ended up doing was:
sand 100,150,220?(superfine)
1 coat General Finishes Pre-Stain (natural)
4 coats Zar oil-based stain (114 Provincial)
3 coats garnet shellac (1@3lb, 1@4lb, 1@3lb cuts)
sand 220 between the shellac coats

My questions issues are as follows,

1)My boards are a lighter than I wanted. I thought I was getting more darkening with the shellac coats (from my test blocks) than I ended up getting. I wish I had put another 1-2 coats of stain on.

2)The number of coats of stain seemed like more than there needed to be, by that I mean my technique seemed to be taking more stain off than was optimal.

I definitely didn't want any stain blotches, so I was applying, wait about 2-5 min then wiping down with a clean rag.

I caught Leo saying he wipes down first with a stain soaked rag and then follows with a clean rag. maybe part of why I was getting so little coverage with each coat. I know the pre-stain plays a big part in that as well.

3) what parts of the process did I not do or not need to do?

Well any thoughts, tips or tricks would be appreciated, I enjoy this area of the wood trade and much like finish carpentry I would like to focus on it so any info would be a big help.

Thanks,

Clifton