Willl Sikkens acrylic over oil-based stain work?

[Eric DeSilva]

I'm trying to figure out how to finish an outdoor table made of eucalyptus. I was originally going to use Sikkens SRD semi-transparent, which Sikkens says is an acrylic product. The problem is that the darkest they have isn't quite dark enough. So I started wondering if I can stain the eucalyptus with something like a Minwax oil-based stain and then put the Sikkens SRD on top of that to protect from UV. If oil under acrylic won't work, is there something that I can use as a darkening underlay below the Sikkens?

I've also got a bunch of Penefin left over from another project, which is a penetrating oil designed for outdoor use. It is a bit orangey, but with another stain under it, I might achieve a color I like. Would that work better?

[Howard Acheson]

Miwax Wood Finish oil based stain contains a small amount of varnish to hold the pigments onto the wood surface. This varnish will dry and effectively seal the pores and surface of the wood. There will be little or no absorption of the coloring in the Sikkens. Try it on a sample of you wood or in an inconspicuous spot.

How about mixing a couple of Sikkens stains to get the color you want?

[Rich Engelhardt]

So I started wondering if I can stain the eucalyptus with something like a Minwax oil-based stain
Minwax oil based stain fades outside in an extremely short period of time - I'm talking days here.

I flooded a coat on my cedar mail box post just to see how it would work. I planned to top coat it with spar varnish at some point but didn't get around to it until the next weekend. Bt that time, theree was a marked difference between the South and West sides of the post and the North side.

It may have just been the color of stain - I used the Golden Pecan, which is a light yellow-ish color.
Not all pigments are stable for exterior use. Yellows and reds are some of the hardest colors to use outside when to comes to being light fast.

[Eric DeSilva]

Thanks for the replies. Sadly, the Sikkens I've got is the darkest--other than ebony--that is available to me from my local store. I suppose I could try to mix some ebony in. Or maybe mail order... I can't bring myself to go with their non-transparent products (isn't that just called "paint"?).