wood staining problem

[Geo Thomas]

Suggestions please . . .
I stripped the varnish from an old mahogany-finished china cabinet. When the surface was completely dry I applied two coats of driftwood stain. This changed the tone of the cabinet from a reddish color to a browner color I wanted. The driftwood stain is green in tone and when applied over red color wood it makes the wood color brown (brownish red). I let the cabinet dry completely and the surface color looked uniform.

The problem: I then applied a coat of wipe-on polyurethane. In some (but not all) areas a greenish tint surfaced on the wood. Now the color is not uniform. In most areas the surface is a brownish red as desired. In some areas the surface looks green.

What can I do to get the surface uniform? Thanks, Geo

[Carl Eyman]

My copy is down at my shop (about 2 miles away) I'll look up his reference when next I go there. Maybe somebody here knows what color to mix with green to get brown. I was just reading this new (maybe 2 yrs old) book on this subject and he tells how to color a glaze to change the color of the base. He suggests putting the colored glaze on a piece of acrylic and putting that over the area to see how it will look. I'll make another reply after I've read Jeff on the subject. In the meantime maybe you can find it at your library.

The thing that makes this book special is that it directly addresses problems a woodworker may encounter instead of being a textbook on finishing in general. He suggests keeping the book in your shop and using it as you would any other tool. So I do. Talk to you later.

[Carl Eyman]

Ok, I retrieved the book and my comments above are basically OK. You must first howerver, seal what you've got. A coat of dilute (1 lb. cut ) shellac will do. A glaze goes between a hard sealer and a hard finish coat. It allows you to wipe off the glaze and try again if you don't like what you have.

Your glaze should have red in it to neutralize the green and turn it into brown. Actually I believe you want a reddish brown, but not knowing the color you are striving for or exactly what you've got I can't bre very specific.

What to use for a glaze? You are probably not going to find anything at HD. If I were doing it, I'd probably order McCloskey's Glaze Coat from Homestead Finishing - they're on the internet- and if you ask Jeff while you are ordering he'll suggest what colorants you need.

I hope others will contribute to this and correct me if I've led you astray anyplace.