Toner

[David Scigliano]

Could I achieve a dark finish like this with just adding 1oz of Transtint to 1qt of laq. and spraying onto the maple?

[Steve Schoene]

I presume with enough coats you could--and it would look roughly like the stuff they sell in the malls at Bombay because of the heavy tint in the top coats. Not as cloudy as pigment would make it but still pretty dense I would think.

I would use a combination of coloring methods to achieve the dark tone and retain more the the natural wood grain of the maple. That makes the first coloration a dye step directly on the wood. Then you could add pigmented stain, either after a partial sealing coat or just over the dye. Then you could further adjust the color with very lightly toned top coats. Using the combination would add depth to the finish, I'd think.

But do tests on scraps your wood before starting on the actual project.

[David Scigliano]

I was thinking of using a dye followed by spraying Fuhr 155 stain and not wiping. I was reading on Fuhrs website and noticed this stain can either be wiped or left to dry....I am hoping this does not become cloudy.

[Steve Schoene]

Try the complete finish "schedule" on scraps of the same wood and see how you like it. You should be able to get the basic darkness you need from the dye, so the pigment stain is there to add depth and complexity to the finish.