Expert: Greg Scholl - 7/15/2009

Question
Hi Greg

I have an oak bedroom set that is stained a golden colour.  I have stripped the night table and applied a water based espresso colour stain.  I didn't sand right down to the bare wood since I was staining the set a darker colour.  It looks great but when I went to apply the top coat the stain came off.  I used a General Finishes water based wood stain - one coat and was attempting to finish it with an Old Masters water based polyurethane top coat. I've resanded and restained the top of the night table but am not sure what to do about the top coat.

Answer
Hi Lynne, I'm a bit confused when you say you stripped the piece but didn't sand down to bare wood. Stripping should have left you with clean, bare wood. Sanding is also a good idea on a hardwood like Oak, but sanding should never be used to remove a finish.( except in the case of a floor) Sanding the stripped, dried wood, will allow the stain to penetrate more, but it sounds like you over applied the stain, stain needs to be wiped off well after application, and typically it's difficult to get Oak dark without a dye stain and toning or other multi step techniques. It's a common error to apply stain too heavily in an attempt to get something dark, and pigmented stains cannot be used that way. When the stain is too thick, the solvent in the topcoat will dissolve the stain coat and remove it partially, in spots, or all together.(yes there are solvents in "water" based finishes). Hard woods like Oak, Maple, etc. won't stain dark with the typical pigmented stain, and dyes are the way to get them dark. These "espresso, Chocolate, coffee", and other dark finishes are accomplished with dyes and toning, which is the use of tinted clear coats. I would recommend the General water based Dye stains for your Oak piece, but even that needs to be applied, then wiped off completely. You can apply more than one coat as well, but each coat must be wiped off well, and allowed to dry thoroughly between applications. But you will find them able to stain much darker. The only caveat is that they are harder to work with,you need to work faster with them and stain larger or more intricate pieces in stages to avoid lap marks and color differences, and they are unforgiving if you stain too dark, or the wrong color. Because they are Dyes they will not remove easily, if at all, and they will stain anything they splash on or touch as well.Hope that helps- post back if need be- Greg

http://www.woodcraft.com/product.aspx?ProductID=148602&FamilyID=20491

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