Adding color to maple

[Mark Gibney]

I want to add color to a maple table top I'm making, a warm tan, like aged maple. I'm concerned about blotching, and I also want to avoid the darker spots of color that settle in the grain (oak is especially prone to this, but I've done it previously on maple).

I have both wipe-on Jel'd stains, and transtint dyes. Happy to use either, but I have more experience using stains.

Should I use a grain filler on the table first?
I have both Crystalac (water based) and Mohawk (solvent based) grain fillers.

What's my best approach to getting an even color on this?

thanks, Mark

[Curt Harms]

Mark, are you set up to spray? If so transtint in Sealcoat (2 lb. cut dewaxed shellac) might be worth a try, it shouldn't blotch and it doesn't raise the grain. Another benefit of shellac is you can put about any topcoat on it. If you're not set up to spray I'd be skeptical about hand applying on a larger area though I haven't tried it. Sealcoat dries pretty fast. Otherwise gel stain? Whatever you decide be sure to do the entire finishing procedure on a piece of scrap first.

[John TenEyck]

Maple is terrible for blotching, to be sure. I agree that spraying Transtint offers the easiest way to avoid it. You have several options, put it in Sealcoat as Curt said, or just put it in DNA. OR, you could put it directly in your finish after the surface is sealed. No way it can blotch then. So you could spray a coat or two of Sealcoat or your topcoat to seal the surface, and then add the Transtint to your topcoat and spray a coat or two of that. Multiple coats will give a more uniform color, as long as you stay within the total finish thickness allowed.

If you can't spray, then I would seal the surface first with your varnish and then use gel stain, oil based with oil based, water based with water based. If you buy the neutral base for the gel stain you can thin it, and that will allow you to apply lighter coats to build up to the hue you are after, rather than being forced to only use one coat.

John

[roger wiegand]

Sprayed on Transtint will give you vey good uniformity, no blotching to speak of, and will help enrich any figure present in the wood. Spraying a toner over your finished piece will alter the color with the least risk of untoward results, but won't pop the figure as well. I see little or no reason to use a pigment stain on maple, there's no grain for it to lodge in and it's hard to add much color if you seal the surface first to prevent blotching.

As always, make sample boards from your actual wood, prepped in exactly the same way to test whatever approach you choose.

[Mark Gibney]

Thanks guys, sample boards it shall be!

[John TenEyck]

Following up on spraying on Transtint, Roger, you are right, you can get very good uniformity IF you don't spray any more than the wood can immediately absorb. If you spray too heavily, however, the excess will pool and be sucked into the blotch prone areas. In extreme cases, where the pooled dye does not get absorbed, the dye will migrate to the outer edges of the puddle as it dries and leave a nasty ring of color.

Yes, samples!

John