wdwerker Posted February 16, 2015 Report Share Posted February 16, 2015 Either side would look good if you stained it dark. Side 2 if clear finish . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted February 16, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2015 Ya was talking with management and the the topic of stain was brought up. A darker mahogany type stain. What kind of options should I look into for this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger. Posted February 16, 2015 Report Share Posted February 16, 2015 Ya was talking with management and the the topic of stain was brought up. A darker mahogany type stain. What kind of options should I look into for this? I really like general finishes water based staines, as well as their water based dyes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted February 16, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2015 I really like general finishes water based staines, as well as their water based dyes. Ok I will take a look into their offerings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted February 16, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2015 I think medium brown is going to be the color maybe just a tad darker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wouldwurker Posted February 16, 2015 Report Share Posted February 16, 2015 Any thought on Gel Stain? I just picked up a quart of GF 'Southern Cherry' gel stain. Looks a tad darker than their walnut color. I can post up a pic of it on some hard maple scrap if you like. Edit : this is very RED. Can't tell from the pic on the can Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger. Posted February 16, 2015 Report Share Posted February 16, 2015 I used the brown dye stain on the x-table, and kitchen helper tower. I can provide close up pics if u like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted February 16, 2015 Report Share Posted February 16, 2015 Do not sand to much finer than 150 or 180 grit if you are staining the piece. You end up polishing the grain which lessens the absorption and dark colors become difficult . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted February 16, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2015 I used the brown dye stain on the x-table, and kitchen helper tower. I can provide close up pics if u like. Sure I am always up for pictures. I like to learn. Any thought on Gel Stain? I just picked up a quart of GF 'Southern Cherry' gel stain. Looks a tad darker than their walnut color. I can post up a pic of it on some hard maple scrap if you like. Same as above. Always willing to learn. Do not sand to much finer than 150 or 180 grit if you are staining the piece. You end up polishing the grain which lessens the absorption and dark colors become difficult . I am at 180g now. Should I get a little darker stain than medium and see how close it gets since it won't be absorbing that much? Or will 180g still be good on the color absorption? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted February 16, 2015 Report Share Posted February 16, 2015 If you are already at 180 grit using a random orbit I would go over it once with 180 by hand with the grain and it should be fine. Having said that I always reccommend taking some scraps and repeat every step of sanding you did to the project, then test your stain/ dye on those first ! Every project I build a few scraps get machined, sanded , stained and finished along with the progress. I spray the finish on at least one test scrap last. You check for dryness/ readiness for sanding on the scrap, not the piece of furniture ! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted February 16, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2015 If you are already at 180 grit using a random orbit I would go over it once with 180 by hand with the grain and it should be fine. Having said that I always reccommend taking some scraps and repeat every step of sanding you did to the project, then test your stain/ dye on those first ! Every project I build a few scraps get machined, sanded , stained and finished along with the progress. I spray the finish on at least one test scrap last. You check for dryness/ readiness for sanding on the scrap, not the piece of furniture ! Ok I will do that. Yes I have a couple 3' long and 3" percent wide scraps I am planning on using as test pieces for applying techniques and just to see the overall look of everything too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted February 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2015 My 2 options for now. Going to apply to my test strips for the next couple days and hopefully know if I like either in time for next weekend when it warms up to apply. Plus that gives me time to figure out my technique for applying water based stain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted February 22, 2015 Report Share Posted February 22, 2015 And just to confuse things you can layer stains too. Use one as a base and another to add highlights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted February 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2015 And just to confuse things you can layer stains too. Use one as a base and another to add highlights. Haha ummm what? Is there a good place to go to see this in action? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted February 22, 2015 Report Share Posted February 22, 2015 I have seen it done, and done it myself. I don't watch to many how to videos. Some just let the first coat dry, others seal between coats then lightly scuff sand. Practice before you try it on your table. Then practice some more on the underside of the bench and table before going whole hog. If you find a color you like run with it ! The more steps a finish has the harder it is to fix if you make a mistake. You can mix those stains before you apply them as well. Use a digital kitchen scale and measure/ weigh carefully so you can mix small amounts for testing then scale it up to do the whole project. Example: add a little brown to the red or vice versa . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted February 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2015 Ya I will test it out before. But it will be on a later time or a side project. I will be putting my first coat of stain on today for the test strips. With the cold weather these test strips are going to take a few days to make now. Which is kinda annoying but oh well don't want to ruin anything just cause I can't wait a day or two extra. Should I use the general finish poly as my top coat? Or can I use other brand polys? I am going with a satin poly to keep the natural look instead of the super shiny plastic fake look. Is that the correct thought process? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted February 22, 2015 Report Share Posted February 22, 2015 Brand isn't that important over stain, satin poly is fine. Read the labels on your stain, might be special steps over a water base stain/dye. I know all the precautions for the finishes I use but they don't usually sell it to the general public. Also read about temperature range the stain and finish needs to be applied and dry. These can be very important with water based finishing. The H2O contact adhesive I use with Formica doesn't dry well under 65 degrees. I couldn't get my shop warm enough on Thursday or Friday to glue up some samples for a client. It was 19 outside, shop never got over 55. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted February 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2015 Ok I'll take a look at the labels and see. From the quick look I saw it said be case scenario is around 70 degrees to apply it. It's about 55-60 in the garage. The medium stain looks great. However the mohagany stain was weird. It had the consistency of a brownie mix. I stirred it well but it got nowhere near the consistency of the medium brown. Is this normal or did I get a bad can? Bad pic and tough to tell but it's clumpy. I put a stick in it and it clumped up on it and took probably 4-5 seconds before a drop fell off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
estesbubba Posted February 22, 2015 Report Share Posted February 22, 2015 GF water based stains are thick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted February 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 Ya it threw me off cause the other water based stain was not anywhere close to that thick. With it being so thick do I rub on and hurry to wipe off to keep it even or what? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger. Posted February 23, 2015 Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 I've used the water based espresso stain, and it wansnt nearly that viscous. I am a big fan of the dye/stain. Love that dark brown colour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted February 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 I've used the water based espresso stain, and it wansnt nearly that viscous. I am a big fan of the dye/stain. Love that dark brown colour.Yes I am really loving the general finishes stuff right now. Easy to put on and looks amazing so far. Just was thrown off by the thickness of the mohagany. I am getting used to it though and got one coat applied and it looks great I think. Mohagany 1 coat Medium brown 2 coats. I forgot to sand in between coats one and 2 but I will sand between 2 and 3. Not sure how much that will actually effect the outcome of the color I can expect to get. Although I guess if I like the color I get I won't sand between coat 1 and 2 on the real deal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted February 23, 2015 Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 I never sand between stain coats. Usually put a couple of finish coats over the stain before the first sand, then go with the grain very easy be extremely careful around corners and edges. One of your cans is Dye , the other stain, different formulations. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted February 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 I never sand between stain coats. Usually put a couple of finish coats over the stain before the first sand, then go with the grain very easy be extremely careful around corners and edges. One of your cans is Dye , the other stain, different formulations. Heh, good call on that. I missed it. So if I go with the dye should I be sanding between coats? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted February 23, 2015 Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 No ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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