Replies

1. 
   SteveSchoene | Jul 13, 2010 02:15pm | #1

   Pine is one of the most challenging woods to stain satisfactorily.  Dye is the best way to achieve a rich color without creating "blotching".  Umnfortunately, dye would do little to emphasize "grain".  

   On the other hand, using a pigment stain would emphasize the grain, though possibly in an unattractive "zebra" fashion, and quite likely would also show blotching effects where parts are rather mysteriously darkened. 

   While I seldom recommend this, you might be aided in this situation through use of a "pre-stain conditioner",  though I would suggest a wash coat of blonde shellac instead of the commercial products.  You would have to balance controlling blotch with enhancing grain by controlling the "cut" of the shellac.  I would start with about 1 lb. cut and work lighter to get the effect you want.  Make sure your test pieces are large enough to really reveal potential problems. 

1. 
   k1c | Jul 13, 2010 07:05pm | #2

   pine staining

   Thank you for the reply about the dye and the grain.  It turns out anilin dye is hard to find anyway.  I will keep it in mind for the future.  Thanks.

1. 
   SteveSchoene | Jul 13, 2010 11:09pm | #3

   Dye is a good product to order on-line.

2. 
   DonStephan | Jul 14, 2010 08:26pm | #4

   It can be hard to justify the cost, but you might consider getting an extra board that is "average" for grain, cut into 18" pieces and begin making finish samples to see what might best give the desired look.  With multiple samples, it's less unnerving to try something that you expect to turn out less desirable, such as oil stain on pine. 

   Some people "pop" grain with a light to medium brown dye followed by repeating the final sanding grit and duration.  Some people feel that boiled linseed oil accents grain and figure, especially if followed by shellac.

   A gel stain is considered fairly blotch resistant, but again it may or may not give the results you're seeking.  But if you're not familiar with a particular product's results it might be beneficial to try it out on the intended product.

   Many if not most woodworking supply stores carry one of the brands of aniline dye, as well as any number of mail order outlets.

   Apply at least a couple coats of the intended finish over the color, as finish can significantly change the look.  Aniline dyes especially look bad when dry, without a topcoat of some kind.

   Several several years ago I built some pine bookcases for a customer, and everyone, myself included, loved the look of of the raw pine covered with a "yellowing" clear finish

   Hope it turns out as desired.

3. 
   Gretchen | Jul 18, 2010 08:20am | #5

   Just curious. Have you wiped your board down with mineral spirits or denatured alcohol to actually

   "see" what the grain will look like with a clear finish?

1. 
   WillGeorge | Jul 18, 2010 09:53am | #6

   Gretchen has a good point about wiping down the wood. I use mineral spirits or acetone. Alcohol flashes off very quickly and hard to see what really happened over a larger 'stick'.

   Some may cringe but I sometimes even wipe the wood with water. I do NOT use tap water.

   My first thought about your question (If I remember it correctly) was that you bought 'clear' pine. Most non-old growth  'clear' pine has little grain that would be attractive. And then again, the big boxes carry a lot of so called 'white wood' that they display along with what I consider pine. I am not really sure what 'white wood' really is. I'd think it is northern, western, Canadian or European white pine. Most of this wood has little grain that will 'pop' under any finish. Old growth pine is a very different story!

   I do NOT consider myself a 'finisher of wood'. Wood that is already attractive, I seem to do Ok with.

   May I suggest that you look up "faux finishing and glazes" on the Net? Millions of words and ideas out there on this subject. And try http://forum.canadianwoodworking.com/ they seem to use alot of pine.. I saw pine trees for hours looking out my window seat while flying over Canada.. The have millions and millions, and a few more Pine trees.

   There is also taunton fine homebuilding forms. I would never knock a good trim carpenter! I'd say fine woodworking, and then some, in my opinion.  http://forums.finehomebuilding.com/

   I cannot do a 'nice' Faux finish myself, but I have seen very beautiful work doing it!

4. 
   Eenmijay | Jul 28, 2010 02:13pm | #7

   homebrew stain conditioner for soft woods like pine

   I recently came across this in FW July/August 1993, page 67, as a sidebar in the article entitled Changing the Color of Wood:

   Stain conditioner prevents a blotchy look

   I spent the better part of two months building my first major

   woodworking project: an Early American-style pine corner

   cupboard. But when I applied the stain, my would-be

   masterpiece was instantly transformed into a blotchy mess

   (even though I carefully followed the directions on the can).

   I've since learned to eliminate the blotchy stain problem by

   applying a pre-stain conditioner to the raw wood before

   applying any solvent-based stain. The stain conditioner evens

   out the absorbability of the wood, allowing it to take color more uniformly.

   Stain controllers made by Minwax and McCloskey are

   available at most hardware stores, but I home-brew my own

   conditioner that works fine and costs a lot less. Simply

   dissolve 1 to 2 cups of boiled linseed oil into 1 gal. of

   mineral spirits. Brush a heavy coat of the mixture over the

   entire project, making sure porous areas are kept wet. After

   10 minutes or so, wipe off the excess, and follow your

   normal finishing routine.

   Pre-stain conditioners work best on resin rich woods like

   pine (see the photo at left) cherry or birch. But regardless of

   species, any parts with lots of exposed end grain (raised

   panels for instance) will benefit from this treatment, but

   make a test sample just to be sure. —C.M.

    

   I haven't tried it yet myself.

    

   Regards,

   Eric