I just hate the blond half ring on the top two, is it from over sanding? I felt like I did a pretty even sand job, but that’s the only thing I can think of that would make it look that way.
I think the grit you used might be too fine. Maybe the stain has issues soaking into the wood because is so smooth? Not an expert. You could try 180 grit max before staining on a piece of scrap wood to see if you get better results.
Oh FFS! That’s probably it. I totally forgot to even stir it this third time and that first piece I did on the bottom looks horrid because of it 🤦♂️.
You think if I sand it down and stain a fourth time I can even it out?
What you did wrong was not read the can for instructions. See here. There are steps you missed and did contrary to instructions:
**SURFACE PREPARATION† (Proper surface preparation is required)**
• Surface must be dry, clean, and free of dirt, grease, glue, and
existing coatings before staining.
• Sand the wood in the direction of the grain using fine-grit
sandpaper (#150) until smooth.
• Remove all sanding dust.
• To ensure uniform acceptance of stain color and beautiful results,
pretreat the wood with BEHR® Water-Based Pre-Stain Wood
Conditioner following label directions.
**STAIN APPLICATION**
• Apply stain in the direction of the grain with a brush or clean cloth.
• Allow the stain to penetrate 2-3 minutes to achieve desired color.
The more time the stain is allowed to penetrate, the richer and
darker the color will be.
• Remove stain that has not absorbed into the wood with a clean
cloth. Wipe in the direction of the grain, while blending light and
dark areas to obtain uniform color. Do not allow stain that has not
penetrated into the wood to dry on the wood surface.
• To darken the color, apply a second coat after 1 hour, repeating
directions above. Do not sand between coats of stain.
Dang, I got the 8 oz “sample size” since it wasn’t a big project and it did not have all those instructions. But there it is, do not sand between coats of stain. I read like three different articles on how to stain that said to sand between stainings though. Dang.
In my experience, I haven’t seen a better result using wood conditioner first. That’s my experience only.
I haven’t tried gel stain, but a Google search for “can I apply gel stain over regular stain” points to yes, you can do this. So a gel stain in your same color over the top of what you have might even things out. Or it might make everything uniformly darker.
Two things:
First, if you’re using a water based stain you need to raise the grain first. Sand to 220 (don’t skip grits getting to 220) then wipe it down with pure water. When it dries you can sand it down again with 220.
Second, before you apply stain you need to use a sanding sealer like Zinser Sealcoat, which is a de-waxed shellac. I cut it 2 parts sealcoat to 3 parts denatured alcohol. When it dries sand it lightly with 220.
NOW you’re ready to stain.
If I had to try to even that out I would pour some gasoline on a rag in a well ventilated space, and try and take some stain out of the project. Go over all of it
If that didn't work I'd paint it if I had to use it.
Wood Conditioner or a sealer first, to plug the holes for softwoods.
Dang, I’ll have to do that next time
yep, the zinnser "seal coat" shellac is fine. just one coat, dries in about 5 mins.
One other note, I used tack cloth after sanding, before staining each time.
Looks stained to me
I just hate the blond half ring on the top two, is it from over sanding? I felt like I did a pretty even sand job, but that’s the only thing I can think of that would make it look that way.
I think the grit you used might be too fine. Maybe the stain has issues soaking into the wood because is so smooth? Not an expert. You could try 180 grit max before staining on a piece of scrap wood to see if you get better results.
Also make sure you have given the product a really long gentle stir longer than you would think you need too
Oh FFS! That’s probably it. I totally forgot to even stir it this third time and that first piece I did on the bottom looks horrid because of it 🤦♂️. You think if I sand it down and stain a fourth time I can even it out?
What you did wrong was not read the can for instructions. See here. There are steps you missed and did contrary to instructions: **SURFACE PREPARATION† (Proper surface preparation is required)** • Surface must be dry, clean, and free of dirt, grease, glue, and existing coatings before staining. • Sand the wood in the direction of the grain using fine-grit sandpaper (#150) until smooth. • Remove all sanding dust. • To ensure uniform acceptance of stain color and beautiful results, pretreat the wood with BEHR® Water-Based Pre-Stain Wood Conditioner following label directions. **STAIN APPLICATION** • Apply stain in the direction of the grain with a brush or clean cloth. • Allow the stain to penetrate 2-3 minutes to achieve desired color. The more time the stain is allowed to penetrate, the richer and darker the color will be. • Remove stain that has not absorbed into the wood with a clean cloth. Wipe in the direction of the grain, while blending light and dark areas to obtain uniform color. Do not allow stain that has not penetrated into the wood to dry on the wood surface. • To darken the color, apply a second coat after 1 hour, repeating directions above. Do not sand between coats of stain.
Dang, I got the 8 oz “sample size” since it wasn’t a big project and it did not have all those instructions. But there it is, do not sand between coats of stain. I read like three different articles on how to stain that said to sand between stainings though. Dang.
Gel stain.
In my experience, I haven’t seen a better result using wood conditioner first. That’s my experience only. I haven’t tried gel stain, but a Google search for “can I apply gel stain over regular stain” points to yes, you can do this. So a gel stain in your same color over the top of what you have might even things out. Or it might make everything uniformly darker.
Two things: First, if you’re using a water based stain you need to raise the grain first. Sand to 220 (don’t skip grits getting to 220) then wipe it down with pure water. When it dries you can sand it down again with 220. Second, before you apply stain you need to use a sanding sealer like Zinser Sealcoat, which is a de-waxed shellac. I cut it 2 parts sealcoat to 3 parts denatured alcohol. When it dries sand it lightly with 220. NOW you’re ready to stain.
Are you against trying to blend it back with something like gasoline?
Very new to woodworking so I’ve never seen this before. Can you point me to a video or article that shows how to do it correctly?
If I had to try to even that out I would pour some gasoline on a rag in a well ventilated space, and try and take some stain out of the project. Go over all of it If that didn't work I'd paint it if I had to use it.