Darken up wood that has been stained

[Bill Pajunen]

I am refinishing an oak table top which I stripped and stained with Sherwin Williams wood classics oil stain dark walnut. After 2 applications of the stain the top is not as dark as I would like it. My questions are, Is there anything I can apply to darken it up before applying the top coats. Second question is what top coat would be recommended for a kitchen table. The old finish was very blond and white water marks from glass showed up very easily. I was hoping for a finish more resistant to water marks.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
Bill

[Wayne Lomman]

Try applying another coat and leaving it on for as long as possible. Hopefully this gets you the colour you want. If not, sand it back with new 150 paper, turning and changing the paper frequently so that you don't glaze the surface at all. Keep your sanding nice and straight with the grain. You don't have to sand back to nothing, just evenly sand everywhere. This will give you a surface that will allow the stain to bite in better. If it still doesn't work, change to a stain that is solvent (hydrocarbon or water) based rather than alkyd based like the one you have. The one you have is a coloured coating more than strictly a stain. I'll leave other guys to recommend a top coat. Different products here in Australia. Cheers

[Bennett Ostroff]

Bill,

I don't think another coat of that wiping will darken it anymore, and leaving it on the surface too long could create a sticky mess. I would try going over the current stain a gel stain. There's more pigment in a gel stain and you can wipe off less to leave more color on the surface. I find that doing multiple thin coats of gel stain gives a more consistent look. I'd try it on a sample first. The more you leave on, the more time it will take to dry. I'd give 24 hours for before a topcoat.

In terms of the topcoat, a varnish will be the most durable option. A wiping varnish would be my preference, like wipe-on poly, arm-r-seal, waterlox, etc. You could also use a water-based topcoat in which case I'd put down a coat of de-waxed shellac over the stain to ensure proper bond (assuming the stain is oil-based).

[Ken Ketcham]

I have great results using transtint colors to tint topcoat layers in order to darken a light stain. For walnut coloring, I use Transtint #6005 (dark walnut), 10ml per gallon of finish. Each coat of finish will increase the coloring a moderate amount. I usually apply 3 coats to get the color to the darkness I desire with walnut. I only use Target Coatings (water based) products so I can spray indoors. For table tops, I've had great success using Target's EM9300, an exterior polycarbonate urethane that's a very tough finish and has excellent water resistance once it's fully cured. As a bonus, EM9300 has UV components to protect against sun exposure that can change the wood's coloring.

Ken

[Barry McFadden]

I was refinishing a jewelry box once for a relative. It was really dark and once I stripped it I couldn't seem to get it that dark again with stain. I stained it as dark as I could and then decided to apply a couple coats of Minwax varnish with coloring in it (don't remember the exact color). It turned out very close to the original color of the box.

[John TenEyck]

My apologies to the OP, but I'm interested to know if you have ever used EM-9300 on an exterior project, Ken, specifically, an exterior door? Thanks,

John

[Ken Ketcham]

John,

I've never used it outdoors where it repeatedly gets rained on. I've used it on shelves in my sunroom, that has temps that range from 30 - 100 degrees, and varying degrees of humidity. The shelves frequently get moisture condensation in the winter time. The finish is still perfect after 13 years. I've also never had a problem with water sitting on table tops coated with EM9300. It takes roughly 2 weeks to fully cure to this level of toughness, so don't test it immediately after it dries to the touch (about 20 minutes). I like the fact that you can re-coat in about an hour, so I can easily finish pieces in one day.

Ken