Help - sweat in stain

[Roger Reynolds]

Need some experience.
I'm a beginner and just put an oil based stain (medium dark on red oak) on a couple of night stands. While doing so a couple of drops of sweat landed on the surface. A day later, I lightly sanded the area and re-stained. I think I must have made a mistake because the reworked area is now lighter in color than the rest of the top. Not sure how to fix it. Do I wait and add another coat to the area? Do I sand the entire surface and re-stain?

[Anthony Anderson]

Roger, you could wait for the stain to dry, and buzz the top down with 220 followed by 320 (on a random orbit sander). Wipe down with lacquer thinner (good ventilation) then immediately wipe off and dry (with air if needed). Then restain the top. Try this, and it should work pretty well. My reply will bring your post back to the top, and maybe someone else can offer better advice. Good Luck, HTH, Bill

[Roger Reynolds]

Thanks Anthony,

I used your suggestion and the top came out very nice.
I hope to post pics next week after spraying the finish. Because I am using a water based finish over the oil stain, I want to wait 3-4 days before spraying (I have already tested the combo).

--Roger

[Anthony Anderson]

Glad it worked out Roger. You are right in waiting for the stain to dry before finishing with water based poly. Looking forward to the pics. Regards, Bill