water spotted stain

[Michelle Aarts]

My husband was in the back yard assembling and sanded oak boards for a wall cap (over the stairs). Just as he was preparing to move the piece indoors he was caught by a sun shower. He wiped the piece down and let it dry for several hours but when he stained it (Old Masters oil-based gel stain in "Spanish Oak") later that evening the water spots showed up clearly with darker stain. We are unsure how to correct this freckly pattern on the wood. Do we need to sand the piece back down to clear wood or is there another approach to correct the staining?

[AceHoleInOne]

At this point, I'm thinking what happened is the grain became raised where the rain drops were. Which then, as the stain was applied, the stain took into the wood a little deeper making those areas darker.

 

You could try to sand back and apply another coat. But first try to recreate the rain drops on a scrap piece and go through what you had already done. Sand and re-coat with stain, see if the results are acceptable. 

 

If this were me. I would strip the wood with a good chemical stripper. Sand and start over.

 

-Ace- 

[wdwerker]

You could also try scrubbing the surface with mineral spirits and a abrasive pad. Go with the grain.

[Michelle Aarts]

Thanks guys - we gave it a good sand until the spots were not visible and re-stained. Second time's a charm.

[AceHoleInOne]

Thanks guys - we gave it a good sand until the spots were not visible and re-stained. Second time's a charm.

 

Good to hear it worked out for you!

 

Sometime's when you sand off the raised grain and re-stain, those spots will go the other way and turn out lighter, due to the surrounding wood having 2 coats and the raised grain only 1, but not always.

 

-Ace-