Replies

1. 
   9619 | Jul 06, 2007 09:54pm | #1

   Whatever you use, don't use Minwax on Red Oak. I did, and got "bleedback" coming out of the wood for weeks. I called Minwax a number of times. I got no help or satisfaction out of talking to them. After a while, they let me talk to someone who had actually worked with wood, and he said that the problem of bleedback with red oak is well known. the fibers are like straws and they soak up the stuff, and it seeps back out. I checked on the web and found out that others had suffered the same problem before. I will probably never use red oak again. No problem with white oak.

   Check it out before you do it.
   Hope that helps.
   Mel

   Measure your output in smiles per board foot. 

2. 
   PeteBradley | Jul 06, 2007 11:00pm | #2

   A light colored waterbased dye followed by a gel stain works well. As always, test first on scraps of the same wood (same includes the way it's sawn).

   The Homestead Finishing site has some more complicated Craftsman finishes that might be of interest. I've had trouble getting the glaze to cooperate on red oak though.

   Pete

   
   

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   Edited 7/6/2007 4:02 pm ET by PeteBradley

3. 
   BigK | Jul 10, 2007 02:44pm | #3

   This recipe worked for me on another project. Equal parts of blond shellac and amber shellac thinned to about 2# cut. Lightly scuff this coat when dry and finish with oil based poly. It should pop the rays and flecks. Of course you want to try this on a sample piece of scrap first.