Pretreating pine prior to staining

[Don Morris]

Somewhere I remember you could use mineral spirits to pretreat pine prior to staining pine as well as a varnish or some specific type of filler to eliminate the blotchyness (word?) of pine prior to staining it. I have to lightly stain a new pine stairwell to match some red oak flooring and I have a lot of mineral spirits on hand. Will that work? Or best material to use prior to light staining of pine is______? Thanks for any guidance. My books on finishing are still put away while the home renovation is coming to an end.

Don M

[Mark Rios]

Someone (a major name but I forget what it is) makes a wood conditioner exactly for this. Home Depot carries it.

[Richard Wolf]

Minwax sell a conditioner for wood like pine that reduse the blotchness. You could also try a coat of shelac.

Richard

[David Scarborough]

Hey Don,
ANYtime I plan on using pine for a project I treat the surface with minwax pre-stain conditioner and apply my stain within 30 minutes after application. It works like a dream. A word to the wise: make sure the area is verrrry well ventilated while using it. The stuff reeks.
Also, if you consider using the minwax, pre-test in a small barely seen area first.

My 2 cents worth,

DS

[John Bush]

Hello all,
I have been milling stock out of pine beams from a barn built in the 1880's and there is still a lot of resin in the wood, mostly around the knots. Is there any special technique for glue-ups??? and I was assuming Don's question relates to the same issue. Thanks, John.