Expert: Eileen Cronk - 12/14/2006

Question
I have an old oak table that I have sanded the finish off of. When I stained (min-wax stain) the top of the table no problem. 2 of the 3 leaves no problem. The 1 leaf keeps bubbling. I sanded it off again and put on Min-wax wood conditioner, let it set for 10 minutes, wiped it off and re-stained in 45 minutes. This morning I went out to start spraying with poly and this 1 leaf is bubbled again. HELP! What should I do? The room temperature is 70 degress, 40 percent humidity.

Answer
Hi Ron
Nice to hear from you.
I have ran accross this problem on occasion and read somewhere this is called "fish eye".
Its caused by dirt in some cases or oil or grease that has penetrated the wood.
This is the only thing I can imagine is happening here.
You are getting small ring marks in the stain..right.. not actual bubbles as we think of them.
How are you applying the stain...I use a rag and find if I simply wipe hard over the ring areas the mark disappears.
If I use a brush I find the rings occur more often and just wiping the stain back fixes the problem.
Now you will have to clean back the board and try again.
But before applying the stain, go over the area with fine steel wool dipped in varsol.
Hope this will help Ron
Regards
Eileen