Staining Oak

[Peter Gavin]

Does anyone know of any good techniqus to get a very dark finish on oak? My wife has decided that she wants the bedroom set I'm building to be dark (almost like mohagony) but since I'm 90% finished with the nightstands it is too late to change to a different wood. I've tested some scrap pieces, and even after I apply several coats the wood isn't dark enough for her. I've only sanded down to 100 grit paper (and even merely smoothed it with a plane) but the stain doesn't seem to soak in enough.

Thanks

Peter

[Donnie Raines]

Try useing an aniline dye(water base). The color that you can achieve with these dyes over oil base stains is pretty dramatic. Of coarse, try this on some scraps.

Also, the use of glazing could help...but I think dyes will work well.

[Steve Clardy]

Try two coats of Minwax 2716 Dark Walnut. It is DARK:eek:

On scraps of course. About $7.00 a quart around here.
Let it soak for 10-15 minutes before wiping.
Steve

[Keith Christopher]

For Mahogany I use Potassium dichromate solution, it brings up a warm richness from the wood. I'm not sure how it will work on Oak but if it does that it does on mahogany then I'm sure it will darken it.

This stuff is an oxidizer.

Synonyms: Dichromic Acid, Dipotassium Salt; Potassium Bichromate; Dipotassium Dichromate
CAS No.: 7778-50-9
Molecular Weight: 294.18
Chemical Formula: K2Cr2O7


a word of caution :

This stuff must be used outside and with gloves and a respirator.

[Don Stanley]

I am currently restoring a turn-of-the-Century dresser, and testing different oil-based stains. I picked up some stain samples at our local McLendon Hardoware store; 35 cents for a tablespoon packet of stain. Unfortuantely, I can't remember the brand, but it was not Mimi-Wax. Maybe it was BEHR or Olympic. In any case, one of the samples was Mission Oak - #265. Since I had to replace the old top, I tried several of the samples. The top appears to be White Oak. I was really impressed with the Mission Oak; it is very dark, but not dark enough to hide all the grain.

-Don