Maple Stain and Finishing Questions

[Vijay Kumar]

I am currently sanding an old maple dresser (for my daughter) , in order to "refinish" it. I have sanded it to 220 grit. It used to have a medium brown finish on it originally that I dont care for.

I was thinking of using Deftoil clear as the top coat since I have a couple of gallons of it and I like the easy way it goes on (unless you think that this is a really bad idea). My question is whether or not to stain the maple- what kind of stain will work on the maple? Is it necessary to seal it with lacquer first. I would like a reddish looking stain I think (or maybe leave it unstained). Any advice on your experiences are appreciated. I realize this is very subjective.

Also opinions on how maple would look with just Deftoil clear?

Thanks in advance

Vijay

[Vijay Kumar]

Bumping and hoping somebody has some opinions.

[Philip Rodriquez]

I always suggest doing a test board. Additionally, lay down a coat of dewaxed shellac before you start. After that, lay down some stain (experiment here) or you can add some transtint dye to your shellac. After that, add your top coat.

Again, use a test board. There is nothing worse that messing up a finish!

[Prashun Patel]

If you like the look uncolored, my vote is to go for that. It'll be the easiest. If you do a test board, make sure it's on a hidden part of your dresser - and not a test board from new stock.

The fact that this piece is older and has been finished once will affect the way it takes any color.

Sorry I can't comment on Deftoil; have not used it.

[Stephen Cherry]

I like the transtint dyes in Zinsser sealcoat (dewaxed shelack). With this, and maybe a color wheel, you could go in any color direction you like. If you want a black undertone, you may also try a black pigment, once again in the sealcoat.

Here is one option, of which there are infinitely many.
1. Two seal coats of sealcoat, uncolored.
2. One coat of sealcoat, with black pigment, wiping to remove all but a little bit, or just skipping this step.
3. Several coats of sealcoat with transtint dyes of your choice. You may try a dye with a color close to what you like, let that dry, and use your color wheel to take you in the color direction you would like to go. It may seem strange to use primary color dyes (yellow, red, blue).
4. Once the color is what you want, topcoat with a couple more coats of uncolored sealcoat.
5. If you don't like it, remove with denatured alcohol.

6. Topcoat with lacquer for waterproofness.

[Jerome Hanby]

My wife just finished a similar project and ended up re-stripping her first drawer front several times before she worked out the schedule. Basically, the maple was always coming out splotchy. Eventually (based on a post we found here on SMC), she used Min-wax Wood Conditioner first, following the directions on the can, then applied the finish and it turned out great! I think the stain she used was red mahogany, but I can't swear to that.

[Howard Acheson]

Let me start at the top.

First, if you plan to re-stain as part of the process, sanding off the old finish is not satisfactory. Stains must be applied to virgin wood. Sanding will not remove the finish that is deeper in the pores or absorbed into the wood. Any residual finish will cause a stain to color unevenly. The only way to completely remove the old finish is by using a chemical paint remover containing methylene chloride. Folllow the directions on the label. Maple is a wood the tends to color unevenly anyway so you don't want to contribute to it by not removing all the prior finish.

Next, the stain choice is up to you. Just be aware that maple coloring can be a problem. Consider not staining at all. Only you can answer your question about how it will look. Try it out in an inconspicuous spot to see.

Finally to your clear coats. Deftoil is a penetrating oil/varnish "danish oil" virtually identical to Watco or Minwax Tung Oil Finish. It can be a good choice for bedroom furniture which does not need the ultimate in protection. To make it more protective, add about 10% of an oil based varnish or poly varnish. This finish is intended to be a complete finish so adding lacquer to the process is not recommended.

[george wilson]

Minwax looks much nicer than some other brands. It is more transparent and deeper looking,not cold looking like some other stains in a can.

I'd recommend Minwax over Transtint,because water based stains can be very tricky to apply evenly if you are a novice. No problem getting the Minwax on evenly.

[Vijay Kumar]

Thanks to all that responded. It was very helpful.

Howard I did use the chemical stripper first to get most of the stain and finish off.

I think I will experiment with no color in an inconspicuous area first. Daughter thinks clear will be ok

Thanks for all the helpful hints

[Quinn McCarthy]

Vijay,

Over the last few months I have been experimenting with transtint dye on curly hard and curly soft maple. Heck of a learning curve but have produced some great results. I have been using honey amber and dark vintage maple. I recently picked up some orange because the honey amber wasn't amber enough for us. My wife wants a curly maple dining room set.

I sand to 180 grit and then raise the grain with distilled water and then sand again to 180. I mixed the dye with distilled water to the ratio on the label. I use Target sanding sealer and target top coat. I can't remember which one.

I have also been playing around with some orange shellac on the maple. It looks great too on curly maple. Not sure if it would be too exciting on plain grain maple. Make sure if you use shellac under water base finish that it is dewaxed.

You need to test, test, test until you get what you want.

Hope that helps.

Q

[Scott Holmes]

Quinn,

Try TransTint dye in denatured alcohol (DNA) instead of water... Dries faster and doesn't raise the grain.

If you have a chance to spray it; you can really get nice even coverage with NO WIPING needed.

[Quinn McCarthy]

Scott,

The reason I used water was somewhere I read that on curly maple water base dye brought out the grain better than alcohol. I have been just wiping it on with a rag. I can certainly try some with alcohol. I can give it a try in the spray gun too. Do you still give a 24 hour drying time before top coating?

Q

[Scott Holmes]

No need to wait 24 hours, when you use alcohol. I give it an hour or two then seal it in with shellac.

[Prashun Patel]

...on curly maple water base dye brought out the grain better than alcohol.

It RAISES the grain more than alcohol. After the water or alcohol evaporates, the dye will look the same on the maple.

I heard it a while ago on this forum (possibly from Scott) that 'bringing out the grain' really happens when you color the porous areas more than the nonporous areas. It really hit home when I read Jeff Jewitt's article in FWW about popping the curl in curly maple (where he dyes, then sands back).

Some people swear that there's something about oil that brings out grain.

[Quinn McCarthy]

That is interesting. I will have to see if I can find the article.

Q

[Howard Acheson]

>>>> Howard I did use the chemical stripper first to get most of the stain and finish off.

"Most of" is not good enough. You must get it all off or you will never be able to get an even coloring with a new stain. It makes no difference whether you use a dye stain or a pigment stain, a totally bare wood is a prerequisite.

If you use a chemical paint remove containing methylene chloride, you will end up with a clean surface. "Green" and other non-MC paint removes require multiple applications to get all the finish off.