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Thread: advice on staining pine

  1. #1
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    advice on staining pine

    i built a mobile kitchen island with three doors and i would like to just put a glossy finish on it,,i tried some spray laquar but it just didnt look good,,i would like to darken it a little,,maybe having a amber look to the wood itself,,can anyone help me or reccomend what i need to do or what i need ,,,or how to do it,,,

  2. #2
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    Try spraying some amber shellac on scrap. If that's too orange, add some Medium Brown Transtint dye to the shellac. However, recognize that freshly milled pine will naturally age to an orangish brown on its own with time. You might just want to put a clear coat on it and let that happen.

    John

  3. #3
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    The first thing I'll say is to avoid a pigment stain with pine. If you want to color it, use dye directly on the wood or added to your clear finish if using something that already has amber properties, like an oil based varnish or shellac, isn't getting you the color you want. There are also a few waterborne finishes that specifically have a more amber tone for warmth; one example is Target Coatings EM2000 which is an emulsified alkyd product. Some solvent based lacquers do have a slight amber, but not appreciable and lacquer isn't the safest finish to work with if you don't have a proper environment to apply it.

    You can get glossy with most film finishes, so this is really more about deciding what finish and/or finishing/coloration technique is best for your project. As always, work it out on scrap first.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  4. #4
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    Try some gloss Arm R Seal on some scrap. I've only used satin Arm R Seal but it does have an amber cast and it would be perfect for a high use item like an island. Here's a Stumpy Nubs video on his application on walnut counter tops.

    https://youtu.be/v4NCxzNdNAw
    Brian

    "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger or more complicated...it takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." - E.F. Schumacher

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Tymchak View Post
    Try some gloss Arm R Seal on some scrap. I've only used satin Arm R Seal but it does have an amber cast and it would be perfect for a high use item like an island. Here's a Stumpy Nubs video on his application on walnut counter tops.

    https://youtu.be/v4NCxzNdNAw
    I tried some satin Arm R Seal on pine after my first post. Photo below. The finish is still wet in the photo and I couldn't get all the glare out. Did not have as much amber cast as I remembered when I last used it, on some birch ply. However Arm R Seal would still be an excellent finish for your use. Maybe adding some dye to the Arm R Seal would be a good solution..

    20201117_144519.jpg
    Brian

    "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger or more complicated...it takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." - E.F. Schumacher

  6. #6
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    wwell i appreciate everyones help,,but it still looks crappy,,i have tried using a brush to put the shellac on,,spraying it,,even tried to change the color using stain,,,but it still has orange peel and looks crappy,,now its trash,,,its a shame that a finish will ruin your project but this one has,,next step is the garbage!!!!

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by jeff oldham View Post
    wwell i appreciate everyones help,,but it still looks crappy,,i have tried using a brush to put the shellac on,,spraying it,,even tried to change the color using stain,,,but it still has orange peel and looks crappy,,now its trash,,,its a shame that a finish will ruin your project but this one has,,next step is the garbage!!!!
    Sand the bejabus out of it and put it on Etsy.

    Or give it to your wife for Christmas as a potting table.
    Last edited by Doug Dawson; 11-19-2020 at 5:27 PM.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by jeff oldham View Post
    wwell i appreciate everyones help,,but it still looks crappy,,i have tried using a brush to put the shellac on,,spraying it,,even tried to change the color using stain,,,but it still has orange peel and looks crappy,,now its trash,,,its a shame that a finish will ruin your project but this one has,,next step is the garbage!!!!
    Don't give up on it yet. If you like the construction, don't trash it. Give it a week, to clear your head, sand it down to bare material (or at least some of it) and use this as a learning experience. Sand to 220, put some dye on, then brush on 2 coats of Arm R Seal, buff it with 0000 steel wool. It will be smooth as a baby's butt. Arm R Seal is thin, so you need to manage drips and runs as you apply it. Try that on scrap first to get the coloring you want, then on one panel of the island. If you like it, do the rest.
    Brian

    "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger or more complicated...it takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." - E.F. Schumacher

  9. #9
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    This is the one place I use Minwax stain. Try a combination of Puritan Pine, and Natural. Do a trial with one part Puritan Pine to two parts Natural, and see how that does. I've used a square mile of Yellow Pine in spec houses I built for 33 years, and did this to add a little color, but not muddy the softwood, or make the softwood darker than the hard parts, which looks absolutely awful.

    With a small graduated container, you can do a bunch of tests swaths by adding the Puritan Pine into the Natural, to see what ratio suits you.

    You can put what finish you want over that.

  10. #10
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    Try some Garnet Shellac. You will to buy the flakes and mix your own with denatured alcohol.
    I used this on some heart pine lumber used to build a small cabinet. Couple of coats, light sanding after drying and then use your favorite top coat.

  11. #11
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  12. #12
    Shellac is totally reversible if you have to just scrape it off and start over, but don’t trash it.

    Follow John’s advise I trust him a lot.

    I would just clear coat it in a couple years you’ll be surprised how ir darkens,

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
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    Cashiers NC
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    The Minwax will work fine but use stain conditioner first or it will blotch.
    Charlie Jones

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