preparing pine

hi. does anyone know of a home brew substitute for minwax conditioner for preparing pine for a stain?...or is it back to home depot?
thanks
mike

Mike, pine is tought to stain. Well, not tough - just tough to do it so it looks good. When stained, the grain in pine reverses. What was light is now dark, and what was dark is now light. This is a forumula for U G L Y in my book.

You can use Sealcoat - it's dewaxed shellac - to seal the pine. Then, put stain in the sealcoat. No, it won't soak into the wood, but it will dry on the sealcoat. Logic here says that a pigment stain won't work as well since the pores are sealed. And, there's no real point to use an oil based stain at this point either. So, a non-oil based dye stain is probably what you would want to use. An NGR (non grain raising) stain, which is AKA a alcohol based stain, would work fine to add a color layer on top of the sealcoat. Then, apply your topcoat finish.

It sounds involved, but the results will be worth it.

Todd

Thanks Todd...will try as a last resort
BTW Happy Father's Day to all
mike