Replies

1. 
   user-121940 | Dec 27, 2008 05:52am | #1

   You can't use any sort of stain on top of a finish. You have to strip off the existing finish first. However, gel stain will help minimize the splotchiness when used on the raw wood.

    

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   Edited 12/26/2008 9:54 pm by Ted W.

1. 
   FrankDrackman | Dec 28, 2008 02:36am | #5

   You might want to read the article, "RE-CREATING A SHAKER FINISHby Linda Coit"  It can be found in the current issue of FWW.

   The premise of the article was matching an 200 year-old finish on a new shaker style piece.  One of the finish schedules that she used in order was water soluble dye, blond shellac, wood stain, orange shellac, blond shellac.

   I certainly learned a few things from the article.

    

    

2. 
   SteveSchoene | Dec 27, 2008 02:21pm | #2

   Sure, you can use the gel stain, but remember over the oil, or even over poly, it will be a glaze rather than a stain.  The difference is more than one of terminology, over the mostly sealed surface, you will be applying it and wiping a considerable portion off.  With the gel you can control how much you leave, but trying to do very darkening with a pigmented stain on a hard wood, particularly one which has been sealed is not a good idea, since you run the risk of obscuring the grain.  So you likely can get some evening through gel stain, but it wil just be paint if you aim for too much change. In the extreme, think of Bombay furniture. 

   This should be worked out on a good sized piece of scrap, prepared ex-exactly as the project has been prepared to this point.  The purpose of the BLO in the first place is to high light the figure.  That's exactly what it did, though the figure was irregular enough that you see it as "blotch". 

3. 
   forestgirl | Dec 27, 2008 08:52pm | #3

   Maple, cherry, pine and alder are all blotch-prone woods. However you end up recovering this project, you might want to pick up a good finishing book (by Jeff Jewitt or Bob Flexner) and read about blotching, washcoats, etc.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 
   
1. 
   martyk | Dec 27, 2008 11:56pm | #4

   Thanks for the advice. I'll try a gel stain. Do you think I should put a thin coat of shellac over the oil finish before applying the gel stain?

1. 
   nikkiwood | Dec 29, 2008 07:03am | #6

   No need for shellac. Just sand the varnish surface --- enough to abrade it so the stain will adhere better. Remember that gel stains were originally developed for steel door manufacturers -- so the finish could be manipulated to look like wood. They are wonderfully versatile. Also, all gel stains are not created equal. I have tried the Minwax brand, and they just did not work for me --- in fact I thought they were total crap. My brand of choice is Woodkote, commonly available in better paint stores.http://www.woodkote.com/********************************************************
   "It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."

   John Wooden 1910-