Need Help Salvaging a Bad Stain Job

[Stan Sappington]

Hi all,

I need some help in hopefully salvaging a botched stain job. The project is a baby bassinet made from maple. It has been sanded to 180 grit with a ROS in most places and by hand in places I couldn't get with the sander. Before starting the staining process, I vacuumed the surface well with a shop vac with a brush and then did a wash with 1 part Seal-A-Cell: 8 parts mineral spirits. After waiting for about 20 - 30 minutes I started applying General Finishes Java Gel Stain with a foam brush and wiping down with blue shop towels. The sides of the bassinet have 1 1/2" slats which made applying the stain and wiping it down interesting. I did work in small sections to try and prevent the stain from starting to cure.

What can I do to save this project? Any advise is appreciated.
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Thanks,
Stan

[Wayne Lomman]

Stan, your surface preparation and cleaning were excellent. It's the next step that would have caused the problem. The Java Gel is a slow drying stain and as such does not need anything under it to control penetration of the stain. What it did instead was create patches where the stain would bite into the seal-a-cell more than others. and other patches where solvent still present caused the stain to bleed.

Here is a procedure to fix the problem. I was taught this over 30 years ago when polishing very high quality dining furniture and it works. I do this if a colour change is requested, when doing restorations or when the colour matching of the timber has been done by an inexperienced worker and I have to make it look right anyway.

1. Wash it down with clean mineral spirit and rag, frequently changing the rag so that it is as clean as possible. This is to remove as much stain and seal-a-cell as possible. You will need to do this where you can control the mess and fumes, so outside is good if weather permits. Work in the shade however as the sun is not your friend.
2. Let it dry overnight or longer if there is still solvent present.
3. Sand it again. Do it all by hand this time with 180 as you did the first time. The objective is to get a uniform texture to the surface, not remove all the colour. It won't feel or look the same as the original bare timber but that is to be expected. Sand a bit extra where the colour is darker to try and even things up.
4. Get out some 240 or 280 paper now and focus your attention on the darker areas. Sand these darker areas just enough to get the smoother finish you would expect from the finer paper. As finish each darker area, make sure you blend the fine sanded area into the coarser sanded area so that there is not a sharp dividing line between the two.
5 What you have created now is a surface that has different textured surfaces that will absorb the stain at different rates and in that way compensate for the colour variations of the substrate.
6. Now you the need the stain, some gloves and plenty of rag. Old cotton rags from worn out pajamas, sheets, flannel shirts etc are best.
7. Apply the stain with a rag and well and truly wet the surface and rub it in quickly, one component at a time (I'll tell you the best order to work in shortly). Stain the complete component as well as a short distance - say about 1 1/2" - onto the adjacent components.
8. Take a clean rag and wipe the stain off the area immediately. Wipe it off adjacent components first making sure there are no hard stain lines across any grain.
9. The best order to work in is: Under side of the base, inside of the base, 2 legs on one side, rails between them, slats between these 2 rails; repeat for the other side - 2 legs, rails, slats. Now do the inside of each end followed by the outside of each end. Following this order will give you the best chance of a uniform result. Wipe out any random splashes as soon as they occur.
10 Let the stain dry as per manufacturers recommendations and clear coat with a compatible finish.

Apologies for being a bit long winded. Cheers

[John TenEyck]

That sure was excellent advise from Wayne, but GF's gel stains won't come off with mineral spirits once they have truly dried because of the varnish in them. If they have dried for a day or so I would be pretty confident the only way you are going to get it off is with stripper. KleanStrip Premium will cut through varnish and remove some of the color, but it won't remove the stuff that's down in the wood. Pick up Wayne's advise at line 3.

FWIW, maple is notorious for blotching, and I've never had what I'd say were excellent results on it with gel stain unless I sealed the surface really well first. The best way I've found of putting color on maple is to spray it with dye or shellac based dye toner. If I need more color I seal in the dye with Sealcoat shellac and then apply a gel stain glaze, or spray more coats of toner. Without spray equipment, the best I've done is to wipe on several coats of Sealcoat shellac, sanding lightly between coats and after the last, and then apply gel stain. It's more like glazing than staining at that point, and you may have to apply more than one coat to build up to the color you want.

John

[Stan Sappington]

Wayne, thank you so much for the detailed explanation of where I went wrong and the steps needed to correct the problem. I also talked with an experienced woodworker at our local woodworking supply shop and his recommendation was very similar to yours. I especially appreciate your recommendation for the working order as this is something that I struggled with the first time around. Thanks again for your valuable input!

[Stan Sappington]

Hi John,

Thanks for the additional information regarding removing the GF gel stain. I will be working on the project this weekend and will keep in mind that I may need to strip the surface rather than just washing it with mineral spirits. This is my first project using maple and it has been a learning experience on many levels. I appreciate your input.

Thanks,
Stan