HELP ! ! ! MINWAX Water Based Stain . . . .

[Steven DeMars]

Hello knowledgeable SAWMILL CREEK guys & girls . . .

Have spent many hours building a chest of of basic 1x pine and pine plywood & lid is trimmed in oak for durability.

Wife THOUGHT she wanted the washed look in the MINWAX brochure . . .

Well she/we hate it . . . looks horrible . . .

We had sanded it down to 220 grit . . . looked great . . .

Then applied the Minwax® Water Based Pre-Stain Wood Conditioner . . . still looked great . . .

Then we applied the first pass of Minwax® Water Based Wood Stain (Green Tea color)

Doesn't look anything like the brochure . . . looks like a shipping crate with green ink all over it . . .

I want to now sand it once it dries and paint it . . .

What type of paint will work on top of wood that has been exposed to the above . . ? ? ? :confused:

I will admit, I am lost at finishing . . . buying & using tools I seem to be really good at . . .

The look we were hoping for was the Antique Green look that was so popular in the mid to late 60's . . .

Any suggestion would be appreciated . . .

As always, I know SAWMILL Creek will have the answer . . .

Steve & Dez

[Mark Kornell]

Pine is a very difficult wood to stain or dye, due to its tendency to blotch - stain conditioner or not. You might want to try searching here for more information on how to seal pine for staining, and the Minwax product is not the answer.

If you are so inclined, you could sand the existing stain off and try again, but that might be a lot of work.

If you want to go the paint route, pretty much any paint will work over that. Personally, I'd pick one of the higher quality brands as they tend to be more durable and have better color saturation. Regardless of the brand, a waterbase stain won't interfere with a paint's adhesion to the wood, particularly if you plan to give it a bit of a sanding to rough up the surface a bit. To be sure, though, use a primer first. A primer also ensures that you completely hide the underlying color.

[Craig Coney]

If you haven't put anything on top of the WB stain, you can wet it with a spray bottle and try to wipe it off. Only challenge is the WB sealer may have absorbed some of the WB stain.

If you want to paint over it, I would recomend sealing the stain with shellac or poly so the stain doensn't bleed thru the paint.

[John TenEyck]

With no criticism intended, you should have tried out your intended finish on some scrap pieces first.

I'm not sure, but you might be able to remove the WB stain by stripping it and/or bleaching it if you would rather have the stained look rather than painted. Minwax might be able to help if you give them a call. If you decide to go that route, I would suggest that you repeat on some scrap what you have already done, and then try the remedial action on that first. If that works, then try whatever new stain approach you decide on on the scrap first.

John

[Steven DeMars]

Well John, I see my wife contacted you . . . . :-)

She suggested I do the "TEST THING", but me being a MINWAX fan said, "What could possibly go wrong?" . . .

So now I have sanded and will sand again . . . . then apply a couple of coats of VASPAR green PAINT ! ! ! ! like I should have done from the begining . . .

The failed stain is very close to the paint we have selected . .

Thank you all for your suggestions / help . . . .


With no criticism intended, you should have tried out your intended finish on some scrap pieces first.

I'm not sure, but you might be able to remove the WB stain by stripping it and/or bleaching it if you would rather have the stained look rather than painted. Minwax might be able to help if you give them a call. If you decide to go that route, I would suggest that you repeat on some scrap what you have already done, and then try the remedial action on that first. If that works, then try whatever new stain approach you decide on on the scrap first.

John