Replies

1. 
   user-7658809 | Apr 30, 2020 10:05pm | #1

   I've had great success with minwax wipe-on poly. I know a lot of woodworkers don't like or use minwax products but this one is rated #1 among its shellac peers. Comes in tints and glosses to choose.

2. 
   hotdogman | May 01, 2020 10:07am | #2

   I agree with the wipe on poly a good choice and easy to use. Make sure you seal all sides of the boards as it will be in a high moisture environment.

3. 
   dynamwebz | May 01, 2020 10:30am | #3

   Wipe on poly would be a good final coat depending what goes under it, since yeah, rather wet environment.
   My real issue is on how to darken the wood without it being blotchy or uneven penetration.
   Have not sanded the boards yet. Thinking a 100 grit should open the pores better.
   Tried a few products on the backside of one board. Very uneven penetration. Tried gel stain, oil based stain and tried & true.
   Has anyone used any technique/product with good results?
   Trying to achieve a look and feel to the attached pic. Maybe not quite so dark wood.
   A bit darker than the cherry vanity I built. Used Tried & True on it.

   
4. 
   mrossk | May 01, 2020 10:46am | #4

   a dye, followed by a stain will help with the blotchiness. Or a thin washcoat of shellac first, then stain. Most softwoods are harder to stain than most hardwoods. Good luck

5. 
   user-6873339 | May 01, 2020 10:51am | #5

   I would save your fir for a project where you'd like the natural look of it. And use a wood that more closely meets your desired effect. Or choose a wood that takes a stain more uniformly. In my experience you lose so much of the natural beauty of the wood when you do too much to it. IMHO.:))

6. 
   mrossk | May 01, 2020 11:07am | #6

   I agree with that too.

7. 
   _mj_ | May 01, 2020 11:51am | #7

   I have had good results with a pre-stain wood conditioner. I have an old can made by Savogran. A search just now only turned up a Minwax product that reads about the same as the old can. I stained some pine doors dark with nice smooth results.

8. 
   john_c2 | May 01, 2020 12:08pm | #8

   Douglas fir is notorious for not staining well. It is very hard in spots and soft in others, so it takes up stain unevenly. Wood conditioner that someone mentioned is just thinned finish. Add thin finish, it gets absorbed more by soft areas, and subsequent stain will apply more evenly.

   But there is a reason Doug fir traditionally got used on floors and trim unstained.

9. 
   dynamwebz | May 05, 2020 05:19am | #9

   Talked me into it. I ordered cherry wainscoting. I'll do all the trim in cherry and use T&T on everything.