Hello,
I am looking for a little aesthetic and perhaps technical assistance. I am finishing my new coffee table that is a hickory base with a curly maple top. I just applied some Minwax wood conditioner shortly before some Minwax ‘Special Walnut’ oil based stain. I am very unhappy with the results.
The top (curly maple) looks pretty muddy and the side panels (Hickory) look like they have zebra stripes. She who must be obeyed would like it to be even darker, so I am planning on adding a coat of ‘Early American’ stain on top of what is already there. THen some semi-gloss poly on top.
So my question is twofold.
1.) Is there a way to lessen the striping (of the grain) that came from the wide Hickory panels?
2.) Is there a way to keep the grain clear on the top, but still go dark?
3.) I am violently opposed to ‘country style’ furniture. Unfortunatly, with the striped side panels (ie extreem grain pattern), that is what it looks like now. Is there something I can do in the final stage to keep it from looking country?
Thanks!
Jeremy
Replies
Minwax = Bleah. This is a mixture of dye and pigment. Pigment stains are not great on maple. I'd strip the top. Use a dye to get the color I want. Put down an oil for the optical effect. Tung or linseed or Waterlox. Let it dry plenty long. A week or two. Dye can be applied over the stain on the hickory to reduce the grain contrast. Then topcoat the whole piece with the finish of your choice.
Ah. I like the idea of putting on some dye to match the colors. I put my second coat on to try and darken up some of the stiles on the front and it didn't really work. I have had great success with Minwax before, but nothing fancy really. This is the first time I bought anything except stock HD pine/bass. As for stripping it and re-doing the top, I think I will take my lumps and try to do better on the next one. I have faith that my -2 month old kid will ruin this one soon enough. I have enough hickory left over to make a bookcase. I searched the archives at length for info on staining Hickory and found very little. I like the natural wood, but frankly I haven't ever done anything but stain and poly, so I don't know where to start. I currently receive Fine Hombuilding, but I need to switch. I am pretty miffed that I built this nice table and didn't finish it right!Thanks!"One experiment is worth a thousand expert opinions"
Edited 1/17/2005 9:33 pm ET by JP
Very hard woods do not take pigmented stain well. The small particles depend on either grain or sanding scratches to hold them. Dyes don't have that problem, although many hard woods can't absorb dye very well either. Maple is one of the more difficult woods to dye well. Minwax is just not a great product for me. I have a selection of UTC pigments, a selection of dye powders, and just mix what I want when I need it. Not hard at all. If I needed gallons, I'd buy it mixed. But for what I do, I like the flexibility of mixing my own. Practice a little and you'll figure what works for you. My first few efforts ended up in the woodstove.
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