hg930 Posted January 21, 2020 Report Share Posted January 21, 2020 Hi everyone, Hoping someone can help me out here as I am clueless and don't want to ruin an expensive piece of wood! 18 months ago we had a large wooden shelf installed. It is made of beautiful oak and was treated with Danish oil at the time, but hasn't been treated again since. Now we have got new flooring in the room where the shelf is, and the colour of the oak looks wrong with the floor. Is it possible to stain the oak shelf a darker colour, or will the stain go on unevenly/not at all because of the Danish oil? Would we need to strip or sand the wood? Or is it just impossible and we will have to keep the oak shelf as it is? If anyone has any experience of this (successful or otherwise) it would be great to get some advice. I would hate to try and stain the wood only to completely ruin it. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted January 21, 2020 Report Share Posted January 21, 2020 You have 3 options get a tinted finish and spray over top of the Danish oil. The ideal tinted finish would be dewaxed shellac as it adheres to everything and can be tinted easily. Spraying with an hvlp sprayer conversion or turbine. Getting the color right will be a trick as you will have to balance the underlying color with the color you are spraying. The 2nd option would be to strip the finish sand and refinish. I don't know how much the shelf is worth to you. Your best option may be to take it to a pro and pay for it to be done. They will have the equipment to do it properly and all the dyes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted January 22, 2020 Report Share Posted January 22, 2020 There is anotger option, although most of us don't consider it a good one. Seal the surface with shellac as @Chestnut said, then apply a gel stain. Gels are made for this sort of work, they are thick and sort of opaque. Like mud, in other words. But if hiding the grain to get the color works for you, its an easy way to go. Remember to finish with polyurathane, lacquer, or similar protective top coat. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wimayo Posted February 10, 2020 Report Share Posted February 10, 2020 If there is nothing else on it but danish oil, you can add a darker stain. The danish oil will keep it from darkening as much as it would if you were applying it to bare wood but, it will work. I think your best bet is to use oil based gel stain. Wipe it on and before it starts to stiffen up, start wiping it off. Don't be afraid to leave a little on the surface if it gives you the look you like. Let it dry according to instructions on the can. Once dry, top coat it with a clear finish. For a single shelf, a spray can of clear polyurethane or lacquer will probably be the most convenient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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