Stain turned out nothing like the sample
Dimerien
| Posted in General Discussion on
What did I do wrong?
Red oak. Sanded with 120 and then 150 grit. Applied and let sit for a bit, then wiped off. I used the Varathane Classic Grey, but it turned out really red.
Did I sand too much?
Perhaps the weather was too cold? I stained in my garage while the wood was room(ish) temp, but temps dropped to about 20 degrees F overnight while it dried.
Did I apply too thin of a coat of stain?
Where do I go from here? Sand and stain or straight to a second coat?
https://imgur.com/gallery/m5qGD00
Replies
did you stir the stain in the can Really well? Often the pigment settles to the bottom of the can? Did you also apply a topcoat? Stain can look very different with a topcoat applied.
Agree with mrossk. Also, have you used this stain before and had it be the right color?
Sanding should not be a factor. Also, if it is oil based, temperature would not be a factor except for drying time. It is possible that the red in the oak is coming thru the stain; a second coat might help.
This is an example of why everyone should do a sample finish before using it on a real piece.
About 20 years ago I was trying to find a "cherry" stain to stain some pine windows that were getting trimmed out with cherry. I tried at least 4 different brands, the first three having no noticeable similarity to the color of actual cherry wood. The last one tried was Minwax cherry, which did a pretty good job, tho it was hard to get the depth of color in cherry even with a similar color.
I try not to stain oak and other dense woods, preferring to use a dye (TransTint) mixed in alcohol. Here also the color can be significantly different before and after the topcoat.
Changing reds is difficult and red oak bleeds. I can't tell you how many times I have seen people in an attempt to white wash/ stain their 70s -80s red oak cabinets or paneling for a more contemporary look only to end up with pink! A pigmented shellac could possibly be a solution. Or pigmented over clear. I have done that in a grey tone over redwood ( another bleeder) pretty successfully. As was stated above always do a test before proceeding pretty much with any finishing your going to do. It's pretty common to find a pretty surprisingly different or disappointing result from what you intended working with finishes. I find myself fussing around with the chemistry sometimes for hours trying to get the result I want. Rarely am I happy with what comes straight out of the can.