Hickory - Staining Dark

[Jim Eller]

My wife wants some end tables made and I have a bunch of nice straight hickory I'm going to use. Some on the boards are multi colored but I'm going to use the white(sapwood) ones for a consistent color(I hope).

That's were the question comes in.

Does anyone have any suggestions for staining hickory? Top coat too. She wants them a little on the dark side.

Thanks,
Jim

[Chris Fournier]

I've dyed quite a bit of white ash to be very dark and this technique wouldwork for you too. In fact the ash often had heart and sap wood colour differences in one piece - no problem.

I used Georgian brown waterbased aniline dye to get the deep brown colour. Don't worry too much about white pores! Then I sealed the piece with a sprayed vinyl sanding sealer. I made up a black glaze to fill the pores; brushed it on, then forced it into the pores. Cleaned any glaze off that was not in the pores. Let the glaze dry. Sealed again and then sprayed lacquer. Done.

Picture ain't great just a quick cell phone shot for reference.

[Steve Schoene]

Cris's schedule will work quite well. If you aren't spraying, then substitute a coat of dewaxed shellac for the vinyl sealer. Any pigment only stain will also work, even if not labeled a glaze ( it is used as a glaze anyway). Apply and then wipe it off the surface leaving it in the pores. It can be a bit different color than the dye. If so it adds some apparent depth to the color. Your test pieces will tell you how how concentrated the dye must be to achieve the darkness you desire and whether one coat of your sealer stops enough of the glaze or stain from impacting the surface too much.

[Jim Eller]

Thanks guys. I've never dyed anything in my life, including my hair.

I was hoping there was a good stain of some sort.

Jim