Gel Stain

I don’t have much experience with gel stain, but it could be that it was sanded too fine. If I’m staining something, I usually don’t finer than 150 grit.

-- "hold fast to that which is good"

It might be because you used poplar too. From what I remember, poplar takes stain somewhat poorly and tends to get blotchy

-- Dan, Rochester, NY

I agree I think you sanded the piece to fine. I also usually sand the poplar that I stain to 120 or so. Gel stains can be finicky and by definition are not penetrating stains. They basically lay on top of the wood. I find that you have to move quickly and get it on and wipe it down as quickly as possible. I use a lot of poplar on the clocks that I make. I use a wiping stain (not as thick as a gel) usually Zar and I get a great finished product. I try to avoid penetrating stains on poplar because of blotching.

the only success I’ve ever had with gel stains is using them as a glaze. I can’t stand them.

-- My dad and I built a 65 chev pick up.I killed trannys in that thing for some reason-Hog

I’ve used gel stain once, as an attempt to darken something that had already been heavily polyurethaned. I see no point in using it further, as it didn’t even work well for that. Maybe for staining fiberglass where fake grain has been cast into it.

I agree with Brandon that you may have sanded too fine to start with, I try to not go over 220 ‘til after I’ve got a few coats of my final finish on, but even so I’m not a fan of gel.

-- Dan Lyke, Petaluma California, http://www.flutterby.net/User:DanLyke

I agree, you over sanded and with poplar you should have used a blotch control.

-- Don't rollerskate in a buffalo herd

Yep, a gel stain is designed to lay atop the wood…not necessarily penetrate it. The utility of this is for projects where you need to color wood when the wood might be slightly mismatched in terms of original color, absorption rates, and varying wood types.

You apply it to the wood and spread it around, going with the grain. You may or may NOT wipe this off. It depends on what you are looking for, but for many people the issue comes with wiping it off. For such applications, I would finely brush on the gel stain, NOT wiping off the excess. For me (and MANY others), using it otherwise just leads to frustration.

In other words, you can’t treat it like a traditional stain.

Like a few mentioned, gel stains actually work well as glazes.

-- jay, www.allaboutastro.com

I agree that 600 on poplar is quite fine. You probably inadvertently made a dust slurry once the gel stain was applied. A good wipe-down and some conditioner may have helped but maybe not. There’s always next time:)

-- My dad and I built a 65 chev pick up.I killed trannys in that thing for some reason-Hog

I wished I had asked about the gel stain before I used the stuff. I had not thought about sanding to fine but that could have made the problem with the gel stain worse. I probably won’t put myself in a situation where I use it again. Thanks for the replies.

Poplar is one of those wood that is difficult to stain and prone to blotch.
Even the washcoat helps little or not. (greenist wood)

I use dyes for this particular wood.
Sand up to 180.
Dye the surface
Then seal with 1 pound shellac.
Next apply dye again.
Top coat it with any finish you like.

I agree with other that you sanded way over you need to.
It is true that sanding up to high will prevent any stain to stick.

Sand to 150 or 180 grit.

Directions can be find here

http://www.hardwoodlumberandmore.com/Articles/ArticleViewPage/tabid/75/ArticleId/11/Poplar-to-Cherry.aspx

-- shdesign3.com

Popular needs to be sealed before staining, a couple coats of thinned shellac will do wonders. I try not to use popular where its going to show . . .

Don’t give up on the gel stains, I have had the best luck with them, Ive had good luck with these http://www.woodcraft.com/Search2/Search.aspx?query=gel%20stain not real cheap, but not overly expensive either. I got a gallon of Zinzer seal coat sanding sealer (DE-WAXED shellac) thinned it a bit and wiped on a couple thin coats then wiped on the stain, Ive used on pine, and will be using on oak and maple in near future. the best thing you can do is to take some scrap pieces and try different things till you get it the way you like it!

-- Fred, Springfield, Ma

Step 1: Throw gel stain in trash.
Step 2. Refer to Steven H post above.