Birch staining and finishing

[Dan Beilin]

Hi.
I am working to finish a part made of birch; the darn wood would not take the stain, and when I apply the oil (I'm doing a linseed oil finish) it gets blotchy.
I have read somewhere that after staining and drying one should seal the wood with a thin coat of shellac, and apply the finish on top.
Any experiences with this?
Thanks.

[Jim Becker]

Shellac is indeed often used as a barrier layer between a color product and subsequent finishing steps. But if your finish is actually an oil finish (BLO or a Danish Oil type mixture)sealing isn't what you want as these finishes are designed to soak into the wood. Sealing prevents that.

What you haven't done is tell us what kind of "stain" you used and that would be helpful for folks to help you further.

As to "blotch", that's just the figure of the wood absorbing the finish at different rates. Some of us embrace that; some prefer it otherwise. When you don't want that to happen, you need to use finishing techniques and products that don't exacerbate that absorption tendency.

[Dan Beilin]

Thanks.
I used a Birchwood-Cassey walnut stain, alcohol based. For some reason it does not penetrate the wood but stays on the surface; I used it diluted 1:1 with water to match the other part which is walnut. When I rub the oil into the wood, it turns red.
I was told to use alkanet root extract in mineral spirit or turpentine as a natural pihment that has better penetration in birch.
Any experiences with it?
Thanks.


Shellac is indeed often used as a barrier layer between a color product and subsequent finishing steps. But if your finish is actually an oil finish (BLO or a Danish Oil type mixture)sealing isn't what you want as these finishes are designed to soak into the wood. Sealing prevents that.

What you haven't done is tell us what kind of "stain" you used and that would be helpful for folks to help you further.

As to "blotch", that's just the figure of the wood absorbing the finish at different rates. Some of us embrace that; some prefer it otherwise. When you don't want that to happen, you need to use finishing techniques and products that don't exacerbate that absorption tendency.

[Jim Becker]

I'm not familiar with any of the products you mention and I'm a bit confused by why you cut an alcohol soluble stain with water. Any alcohol soluble colorant I've tried to use demanded to be sprayed because the alcohol flashes off so fast...hand application leaves streaks. I generally use water soluble dye to color wood when I color wood (not often), seal with de-waxed shellac and then top coat accordingly.

Wouldn't the simplest solution for your project be to use walnut to match the walnut rather than birch which has a very different grain pattern? A stain or dye may get you close to the color (that the walnut is now, but remember that walnut gets lighter over time), but it's still going to look like different wood.

That all said, there is no harm in trying out on scrap that natural product you have been pointed toward. At the worst, you'll learn what it actually can do for you and at best, it will be what you want to accomplish your goals.

[Prashun Patel]

I've had good luck staining baltic birch (plywood) with danish oil mixed with oil stain. I'm surprised the linseed is blotching on you. I find Linseed and Danish to penetrate remarkably evenly.

Have you tried using a prestain conditioner?

[Dan Beilin]

Just followed the instructions on the bottle that say it can be diluted with water for a lighter tone.
I am just refinishing the parts as they came from the factory in different grades of wood; the birch part is complex, not easy to make.



I'm not familiar with any of the products you mention and I'm a bit confused by why you cut an alcohol soluble stain with water. Any alcohol soluble colorant I've tried to use demanded to be sprayed because the alcohol flashes off so fast...hand application leaves streaks. I generally use water soluble dye to color wood when I color wood (not often), seal with de-waxed shellac and then top coat accordingly.

Wouldn't the simplest solution for your project be to use walnut to match the walnut rather than birch which has a very different grain pattern? A stain or dye may get you close to the color (that the walnut is now, but remember that walnut gets lighter over time), but it's still going to look like different wood.

That all said, there is no harm in trying out on scrap that natural product you have been pointed toward. At the worst, you'll learn what it actually can do for you and at best, it will be what you want to accomplish your goals.

[Ryan Sparreboom]

I've finished birch before with Tung oil (fake stuff) and had real good luck. Birch is one of those woods with a pretty closed grain, like cherry or maple. So a pre-stain conditioner made for your type of stain may work. Or try a gel stain.