# Question: How to even out stain



## W1ngnu7 (Sep 2, 2007)

Without getting into too much back story, I have a tabletop that I've stained with a dye/den-alcohol mix and because it dries so fast it didn't go on very evenly. I have to use this mix in order to match the color of the rest of the table but I'm kind of at a loss on how to get an even finish on the top. Does anyone have any advice? Thanks!

Joey


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

Sounds like a question for Karson… Bump


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## DanYo (Jun 30, 2007)

put lots of alchohol on a rag and rub over your work


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## croessler (Jun 22, 2007)

That's why I decided to go try the TransFast Water Soluble dye on my current project. I was afraid I would screw up with the alcohol.


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

Sorry I don't use stains. I use wood au-natural.

What brand of stain did you use. Call the Manufacturer and ask for some technical support.

If it was Trans-Tint call Jeff Jewitt. He owns Homestead Finishing

Check out his website he has a lot of info there that might help you.


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## W1ngnu7 (Sep 2, 2007)

I tried an alcohol soaked rag and it helped even it out some but it just dries too fast to get rid of all of the overlap. I did use Trans-Tint and it looks like maybe I could dilute it with water instead of alcohol to slow the drying time. Seems like I should probably sand this down first but I assume the dye soaked in quite a ways. Well-learned some lessons about dye if nothing else. If I can get a decent finish from this and not resort to painting it, I'll post my results in case anyone else is curious. Thanks for the help.


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

Good luck W1ngnu7…


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## DanYo (Jun 30, 2007)

try harder withe alchohol soaked rag. rub real hard and keep it wet. if you have some beartex or 0000 steel wool try that and rub with the grain. I use alchohol stain all the time and I'm sure if you work at it, it will eventually rub even.


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## Sawdust2 (Mar 18, 2007)

I took a course from Peter Geaudrys one day.

He suggested that you always try your finish on a piece of scrap from the project.

Most of us who are not professionals at this don't have that patience. Until we get in your fix.

Next time try it on a sample first.

I always told my flight students that they learned more from their mistakes than from what I taught them..


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## Radish (Apr 11, 2007)

After rubbing off some of the stain, as you have done, you can now put on a washcoat of dewaxed shellac. I recommend Zinnser Sealcoat it's a 1 1/2 lb cut. Cutting that in half with denatured alcohol and spraying it on would be ideal, but you can use a cloth rubber or brush with a light touch. De-nib with P320 grit paper and remove the dust. Now you can glaze over the shellac with an oil based stain of a similar color, or drive the color another direction if you think it needs color correction (darker, more brown, more red, etc). Gel stains like Bartley's work well here.

Just rub in the glaze, let it set a minute and rub most of it off. That will help even it out. If it gets too tacky or you want to remove some of the glaze use a cloth moistened with mineral spirits. You can apply more glaze or different glaze over this coat if more correction is needed. It's best, of course to try any finishing technique from start to finish on a test piece (an offcut of the same wood in the project) before trying this on your project, but if your already in the thick of it on your project, so be it. When the glaze is dry in 24 to 48 hours, seal it with more dewaxed shellac, flatten the shellac with 320 grit or a gray Scotchbrite type non-woven abrasive pad and then you can proceed to your final clear topcoat. Take notes. If you are working for a client, write down the recipe on the back of the test piece and have the client sign the back of it if they agree with the final look.

If the wood is cherry, pine or other wood that is prone to blotching you can use the diluted shellac as a pre-conditioning coat at first before using the stain.


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## W1ngnu7 (Sep 2, 2007)

Thanks for the advice. This gives me several more things to try.

I DID try this out on a test piece. The difference was trying to do it on one large surface. I never would have thought to use a 3'x6' test piece but I guess that would have helped in this case.


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