AboutGreg Scholl Expertise Questions on Woodworking, wood finishing and refinishing of all kinds, repairing furniture and wooden objects,Architectural details, Woodturning, carving, tool usage, product usage, some chemistry as it applies to woodworking and related interests,cabinet making and furniture construction/design, etc. I have experience with all manners of colorants, finishes, paints, stains, dyes, glazes, and coatings of all kinds.
Experience Fine furniture restorer and cabinet maker for over 30 years,serving high end Antique dealers, Interior designers, Collectors in the CT area. Sold, built, serviced, setup Home,Industrial and Commercial stationary woodworking tools for a major tool retailer in CT. for three years, sold hand and power tools, and offered instruction on use and care as well.I even have some Trade show Demo experience.
Organizations none at this time.
Publications Published in Fine Woodworking Magazine (12/97), included on Fine Woodworkings first "Best of Fine Woodworking" CD-ROM (2002) ...("27 year compilation of expert know-how"), local newspapers as well
Education/Credentials Art School at Silvermine Guild in Norwalk, CT., 9 year apprenticeship in a European run Cabinet and Restoration shop in CT., various classes on subjects having to do with the field.Seminars by Major tool manufacturers, Delta, Powermatic, Performax, Porter Cable, Skil/Bosch to name a few.
Past/Present Clients Many varied clients including work on Martha Stewarts' Westport, CT. show house, many fine Antique dealers and private collectors in and around Fairfield County and in Woodbury, CT.(the Antiques capital of CT.) Consulting for area Painting/Decorating and Building contractors on non painting issues..(staining, wood prep.,clear finishing, floor restoration and architectural detail restoration and repair, etc.), local Museums and Historical Societies.
Question QUESTION: History: 3/4" Oak ply stained with Minwax Red Mahogany followed by Cabot Red Mahogany to increase darkness and redness. Minwax polyurethane would not dry so wood was wiped completely with mineral sprits paint thinner after which some stain remained in the wood. This was followed by two applications of Minwax Red Mahogany. The wood was wiped completely between each application tot he point I did not feel any tackness. After waiting more than the recommended period of time I brushed Minwax polyurethane in a small area as a test.
I'm having the same problem with the polyurethane not drying. It seems the stain might not be completely dry because a little residue comes off on the brush when applying the finish.
Could oil from paint thinner be causing a problem. What I'm thinking now is to wipe it off again then washing it with alcohol to ensure it being dry. Also, to avoid the problem again I thought Ijust use an all-in-one polyurethane with stain. Would appreciate your thoughts / recommendations on this.
ANSWER: Hi Richard, it's the stain, and the fact that what you're staining is essentially a piece of wood that's a millimeter or less thick. It can only soak up so much stain, and so the stain is building up enough that it's not drying properly. Oil stains do not do well with multiple coats like this. They just don't dry thoroughly enough and are susceptible to the solvent in the successive coats of either more stain or finish. The trick is to use a dye stain, that's the answer to staining dark on a hard wood...but these are a bit tricky to use and you won't find them in a typical Home or Hardware store. Many times one would combine the two, a coat of a dye stain, followed by a Gel or oil pigmented wiping stain. Then on top of that a "toning" coat will also be sprayed, which is a dye based colored clear coat, then followed by the final clear coats. I would not recommend the PolyShades or the like, as they usually look like crap...I have never seen a project done with them that looked professional. I would suggest trying a Gel stain. These thick bodied stains are pigmented colors in a Polyurethane base, so they're perfect if you're topcoat is going to be poly. These stains will also dry fully after each coat because of the urethane carrier, each coat is like a color coat and a sealer coat in one, but unlike the PolyShades, there's 90% stain and maybe 10% poly, just enough to cause the stain to "set up" and dry fully. Successive coats won't melt the previous one either, and they're a bit more predictable to use, but applying too much can cause the typical "muddy" appearance of a pigmented stain, Dye stains don't suffer from this because their colors are transparent. The truth is though, if you want a rich deep color tone on a hardwood or hardwood plywood, dyes are the way to go. But, I would not recommend them to the novice finisher, as they are unforgiving, will permanently stain anything they touch, (including skin, clothing, etc), and take some experience to use, especially on larger surface areas, which necessitates knowledge about the various solvents and retarders used with them. I would also caution against staining Oak Dark Mahogany, as it looks unnatural and Mahogany plywood isn't much more than Oak ply...typically if you want something to look like Mahogany,...use Mahogany. It has a natural reddish hue, so it's easy to make it look like Mahogany...since it alread is...lol. Hope that helps- post back if need be- regards- Greg
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QUESTION: Greg, thanks for your response. One more question, what would your recommendation be before proceeding on the above? Should I first wipe what I can off with a mineral sprit paint thinner or denatured alcohol (both are avail.)? Also, you mentioned PolyShades look like crap. What I'm staining is the inside of an entertainment cabinet (not much will show). ~~ Again thanks, projects are always more interesting when some knowledge is gained.
Answer Alcohol will not cut the stain as it's an oil stain, so mineral spirits would be the best choice. Any of the stain that has dried probably won't come off, so you might end up with a mess at this point, and then stripper would be the best bet. Stay away from the Polyshades...try the Gel stains, I think you'll like them....Minwax makes a line of them available right near the regular Minwax stains, but the best are the General Gels, or the Bartley... http://www.generalfinishes.com/finishes/oil-base-finishes/oilbase.htm#General%20...
http://www.homesteadfinishing.com/htdocs/Bartleystains.htm
Best of luck- Greg
