Stain Gurus, thoughts please - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

moorewarner · 07-01-2009, 01:58 PM

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

**Leo G** · 07-01-2009, 03:57 PM

You sanded to fine. If you want it to be dark 220 is to fine. Stop at 120 or 150. This will let the stain penetrated deeper. You need to remove the excess stain or you may have adhesion problems. The longer you let the stain sit the deeper the color will become. When you add a clearcoat on top it will usually lighten the stain because it make the stain more transparent. You need to do your test with the topcoats on because it can change the look dramatically, especially if you are doing a dye first and then a stain on top.