Slight Streaking After 3 Coats of Poly in Maple Cabinets – Need Fix
My wife and I were refinishing the maple cabinets in the kitchen. She desperately wanted to make them as white as possible, so we thoroughly sanded (80 grit, 120 grit, then 220) all the bases, cabinet and drawer faces, and then proceeded to A&B bleach all of it multiple times. After that was done, they looked great and were of a uniform color. We then chose Varathane Antique White oil-based stain and Varathane water-based polyurethane.
I wanted to make the job as perfect as possible, so I used a Fuji Hobby Pro HVLP sprayer to apply the stain to all the cabinet faces and drawers. I wiped them down with a foam brush when there was a bit much stain applied, and then I let them dry for a week due to the intent to use the water based poly. Their color was uniform and perfect. I then prepared to apply the coats of poly. I decided to spray the policy, which seemed to go on well and uniform. When I placed the wood down to dry, everything looked fine. But after a couple coats, there started to appear some lighter streaks on some of the faces of the maple cabinet doors (didn’t seem to happen as much with the drawer faces). It is really not too big of a difference, but enough to need to do something to get a more even and uniform appearance.
If I had to guess, the source of the problem was either that I didn’t use conditioner on the wood before staining, or the poly caused the streaking. But it seems odd that I wouldn’t have been able to see the uneven stain before applying the poly if certain areas didn’t soak it up evenly. So I’ve been concluding it was something to do with the poly possibly.
Anyhow, I really need help, because I can’t feasibly sand all these down again and start from scratch. I have seen some suggestions about toning over the 3 layers of poly that I already have, and creating the toner by making a 1 to 4 ratio mix of the original stain to poly. But I am very fearful that this will make things much worse rather than have a blending or evening affect.
Any input would really be appreciated. I don’t need to hear about how much I shouldn’t have done one of the steps in the first place, but rather would appreciate some direct and feasible solutions when this is really only a minor variation on the faces of some of the cabinets. The frames turned out well and the colors are quite close right, so I don’t want to modify the color too much at this point. Hence why I was thinking a type of toner might do the trick. Thoughts?
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Do you have a test piece where you could try toner to see if you could blend lighter streaks into the right color? If not, can you try it on a small part to see if it blends? Maybe Varathane can offer suggestions.
Not really. We bleached it to such a degree that I don't really have a test piece without having to go through a ton of work to create a test piece. And I also would rather not test toning if the gurus here say that's a crazy idea. I'm a bit concerned that toning, by combining an oil based stain and a water based poly, might be an insanely bad idea.
Why not test on an inconspicuous spot like the top back corner of a door that will be mounted high up?
Create the test parts. Actionable information is everything.
You've done so much to that wood, and the problem could be from many things. The bleach could have caused a reaction. Using a sprayer to apply stain could have put on too much. It's just really hard to say what the exact issue is.
I wouldn't worry about the conditioner. One more chemical and process probably would have caused more trouble. And conditioner is just thinned finish.
Thanks John, but when I sprayed the stain, I made sure to follow-up within minutes of spraying to wipe off any excess stain with a foam brush without causing any brush strokes. So I don't think the problem is there. I did consider the fact that maple can soak up the stain unevenly, but wouldn't that be apparent at the time period after the stain dries but before poly is applied?
As for my question about toner as a possible solution, can anyone weigh in on the idea of applying the stain/poly toner creation on top of the three layers of poly that already exist? I know a lot of guidance suggests gel stain for some toning options, but that's not really an option for me at this stage, especially with the need to match the frames. I am thinking that a toner that I create that would only put a light layer on would act as a uniform color since it is being applied on top of sealed layers of poly. But I would like to get some more experienced input on that idea.
First I would never mix a oil based stain with a water borne finish. That could be a recipe for disaster.
You didn't mention how quickly you applied the 3 coats of finish. If you apply too much finish too quickly you can trap moisture under successive layers creating cloudiness which affects the appearance of the final product. Temperature and humidity levels can greatly affect drying times so what works one month may not work next month as far as drying time goes. Sometimes this will clear up on its own over time as more of the moisture evaporates or you might try using a heat gun or hair dryer to see if it accelerates the process, but go slow and use patience to make sure you do no harm.
I had heard that mixing oil based stain with a water borne finish could be problematic, but I read that it wouldn't be an issue if I let the stain dry adequately before applying the water borne finish. That is why I let the stain dry for 7 days before applying the poly. Does that amount of dry time change your view on that aspect?
As for the 3 coats of finish, I applied them consecutively after allowing 2.5 hours exactly to elapse between coats. The poly directions recommended 2 hours drying time, and I've seen articles that say you could go a little less than 2 hours, but I waited 2.5 hours between coats to be sure.
The temperature levels were in the 70s consistently with low humidity.
With all that said, I am looking for repair solutions rather than suggestions for how to do this better on my next project. My wife is hosting a group at the house in about a week from now, so I need to try a solution so I can put up the cabinet doors and drawers before that happens.
Anyone have potential repair solutions that don't involve starting from scratch?
With the stain dry the water based poly would/should be fine. I think you are just dealing with the fact that the doors are glued up panesl and the drawer faces probably were solid stock. The variation from board to board in a glued-up panel is not uncommon. Spraying the stain probably helped keep the variation to a minimum... brushing it out probably the opposite.
Alot of solid wood furniture is sold with a "cherry finish" or sum-setch that is heavy on the spray stain to hide the gluelines in the "solid" wood.
I know I'm not offering a solution here, but thinking about the cause of the variation might trigger one in another brain.
From the picture, I think it looks good. Like something natural, not plastic. Is that radical, and I'm not being picky enough?
Not plastic, polyester dude.
Modern cabinet finishes are done in an environment where no humans are involved and with materials that would probably kill you if you tried. They have a lot of of ability to experiment which you do not. Like the previous post I think it looks good and like a person did it! I do find that often when using water-based finishes there are flat spots, you fix it only to find another spot show up someplace else. You finally get it to where it looks good and you figure your done then the light hits it a certain way and something else shows up. Water based finishes are fast and they don't stink up the place and you could probably get away with using them as a coffee creamer but they are to me a little bit of a let down.
I've heard that maple has a wavy pattern of growth that, when cut into boards, the ends of grain show up randomly in a board. This means that stain or finish shows dark and light in various places on a board and this looks uneven and unattractive. Because this is the nature of ordinary maple (meaning not figured maple) you just have to accept this uneven appearance. For this reason I don't like to use maple except for very informal projects such as a coffee table or bench in a vacation home!
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