Drumstick Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 Howdy folks, I've been lurking around the forums here for a couple of weeks and you are are awesome! I started a refinishing of an old dresser and I'm having issues with the stain. It's splotchy and looks like poo. A little background. We have an awesome cat who pee'd on the dresser. Got that cleaned up with anti-icki-poo. There was some staining and peeling from clean up and pee. But got the smell out. I used orange citristrip to pull off the old finish then wiped it down with paint thinner to remove the residew. I then started sanding from 60 up to 220 grit. I took the top to 320 so I had a nice smooth top. This took care of a majority of the stains. The ones that were left I can live with. I'm putting a snake cage on it. After sanding I vacuumed the whole thing. I'm useing Varathane Black cherry stain for the color. I cloth wiped it on. The wait time on can is listed as 2-3 minutes. I wiped it off. Some of the places sat for up to 8 minutes as I was wiping off the stain. And now it's splotchy. Some of it turned out great but other parts you can't even see the grain. When I buff the heavy spots they get better but I think my arms might fall off before I'm done. I used a green scotch brite pad and it took the stain down but almost removed it in other spots. I don't know what kind of wood it is other than its at least from 60's -70's. I'm wondering if I should have used a pre stain conditioner? Or was my problem from waiting too long to wipe down? Ultimately what should I do? Keep buffing or sand it down an start again? Or is there something else? This is my 3rd finish project and I wish it looked better. Thanks for reading my ramblings . Any help would be much appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronn W Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 Welcome to the forum. You will probably get a lot of different opinions on this one. So I'll get the ball rolling. Looks like you might have some poplar there. Not sure but regardless of the species there is not much you can do with the splotching once it has occurred. I think you need to sand it down and start over. Once that is done try a test area ( or two)on the bottom or inside before doing the exposed part. I might suggest sanding to only about 150 grit and applying a coat of 2# cut shellac as a sealer, it works better than most so-called pre-stain conditioner. If you don't mix your own you can use Zinsler's Bulleye Seal coat right out of the can. If you have not used shellac before check out some videos on how to apply it. It is not applied like a varnish. It's not difficult, just different to apply because it is so thin and dries so fast. Then apply your stain over the shellac. I suggest an oil based gel stain like the ones by General Finishes. Gel stains to blotch less than liquid stains. Another option after the shellac would be to use a water base dye instead of a stain. Dyes color the wood differently but tend to blotch less than either gel or liquid stains. Again, do some test spots. If you can pin down the species that you have, you might buy a board of it for your tests. Good Luck. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat60 Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 What works for me is I go fast when I stain and dont leave it sit before I wipe off. Then I go back with a bit of stain if I need to and touch up. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drumstick Posted February 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 Thanks for the replies I think I'm going to sand down one of the drawers and just do smaller areas so I don't leave it on so long. If that doesn't work I'll try the shellac. I've tried General Finishes gel before. It didn't come out right and was the wrong color. My wife found this color and loves it. I 'll give them another try on a different project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 Treating it before staining will seal the wood so that the blotching doesn't happen as severely or at all. Some species of wood is more prone to blotching than others. You can use the shellac mentioned above or there are other products on the market that will work as well. Good luck. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 Be aware that sealing before stain also prevents the color from penetrating, so you get a light shade. That's one reason to use the gel stain, as it works like a surface glaze, so WYSIWYG. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Drumstick Posted February 20, 2017 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted February 20, 2017 I ended up sanding down a few spots and restaining. I got it looking a bit better. Here it is before the 1st poly coat. Now for the real hard part, having my wife pick out the handles 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronn W Posted February 20, 2017 Report Share Posted February 20, 2017 Looking good. I like it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted February 20, 2017 Report Share Posted February 20, 2017 Looks like you did a nice job of fixing your problem. Glad it worked out. Welcome to the forums. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drumstick Posted February 21, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2017 Thanks folks! I really appreciate the advice. When I get it all finished I'll post some pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drumstick Posted February 27, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2017 I've finally got the last coat of poly on this thing. I have the inevitable little dust nib on it. I've read about using a paper bag to smooth them off. Is it just as easy as cutting a brown paper bag and rubbing it down? Or is there a trick to it? I don't want to go and screw it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted February 27, 2017 Report Share Posted February 27, 2017 Make sure the finish has cured/ hardened first ! Then yes it's just cut clean flat sections of brown paper bag(no creases or seams ) and go to town. You do know that there are different grits to those abrasive pads ? Green is extra coarse, Red/ maroon is coarse, grey is medium and white is fine. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drumstick Posted February 27, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2017 30 minutes ago, wdwerker said: Make sure the finish has cured/ hardened first ! Then yes it's just cut clean flat sections of brown paper bag(no creases or seams ) and go to town. You do know that there are different grits to those abrasive pads ? Green is extra coarse, Red/ maroon is coarse, grey is medium and white is fine. My plan was to wait for it to cure about a week then hit it with the paper bag. I've got the green scotch brite pads. I heard of the different grits for the other pads but I haven't really seen them or looked for them. Would they work better? I'm pretty happy with the final coat except for the few dust nibs. So I don't want to go and muck it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted February 27, 2017 Report Share Posted February 27, 2017 A week might work. Check in a less visible spot first. If the brown paper isn't enough try a white pad. Cabinet supply, finishing supply and some big box stores(Lowes) should have them. There are many brands besides the 3M ones. Non woven abrasive pads, Finishing pads or Refinishing pads might be the description. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drumstick Posted February 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2017 Thanks for the tips! I'm going to Lowe's to hunt for the handles so I'll pick a couple of the pads up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drumstick Posted March 5, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2017 I picked up some of the white finishing pads. They didn't quite work. Seems like I missed where a bug landed on it and got entombed. So I had to sand it again and do another final coat. It's been about 2 hours and it's dry to touch and bug free. Now it's just another week to cure and done, hopefully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drumstick Posted March 10, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2017 It's done! I hit it with the finishing pad 1st then the brown paper bag. It smoothed it out something fierce! The wife picked out the antique silver pulls. I paraffin waxed the drawer slides and it glides so much better. Thanks for all the help and advice folks! I'd still be working on this without it 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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