I am wondering if there is some type of compromise in finishes that will help me with my problem. The problem is that an oil based stain creates blotchy areas on panels. Gel stain eliminates the blotchy areas, but the panels are large enough that gel stain dried too fast. I may finish as many as 30 3’x10′ panels a day. Any suggestions?
Scott
Replies
Wow, 30 panels a day? Sounds like you work too hard!
I'm not a finishing expert but I asked around and this is what I've gathered. Maple doesn't take an oil-based stain very well so the blotchiness you see is probably areas of the wood that haven't absorb the stain.
If you are having success with gel stains then stick with them, but read this article for tips on how to apply a gel stain on large surface. It suggests staining small areas at a time to deal with the quick drying time.
Hope that helps and sorry for the delay getting to you.
Regards,
Matt Berger
Fine Woodworking
Thank you for taking the time to respond. We have a high end cabinet shop and do as many as 3-4 kitchen/bath sets per day. I like to try new things to get a better product out the door. The blotchy maple seems to be a acceptable standard around this area. I just wanted to see if we could get away from the problem on a large scale basis without much additional cost. Trying to get the people who work with the stain to use gel stain was just not in the cards.
Thanks again.
Scott
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled