Uneven finish on Oak Plywood

[Eric Bong]

Needing expert advice. The last project I finished I ended up with uneven finish on the plywood door panels. One half was darker than the other. What should I be doing before applying stain to make sure I don't end up with a striped panel.

Thanks

[Scott Holmes]

Which stain did you use? Brand and type of stain is more important than color.

1. More vigorous wiping of the dark aeras may help.
2. Dye instead of stain is another option.
3. Pre-stain conditioner is another option.

[Michael Pyron]

I'm thinking that you are seeing the effects of what is called grain runout...the fact that the difference in color happens exactly on the joint of the flitches of veneer certainly points to that conclusion...I'm not sure there is any solution for that other than replacing the 1/4" panels...

[Eric Bong]

I've never tried pre stain conditioner. Does it effect the absorption of the stain? I.e. is the piece with conditioner going to look lighter than one without.

[Kevin Barnett]

Wow. I've never seen such good symmetry between doors. It almost looks like fake plywood.

If you want to switch the color to the other side of the door, you can always rotate it 180 degrees. It'll still be darker on the right side of the door, but now thats the other side. You should play with curly maple. The effect is even greater due to the changing grain. Not much you can do about it.

[Michael Pyron]

Wow. I've never seen such good symmetry between doors. It almost looks like fake plywood.

If you want to switch the color to the other side of the door, you can always rotate it 180 degrees. It'll still be darker on the right side of the door, but now thats the other side. You should play with curly maple. The effect is even greater due to the changing grain. Not much you can do about it.

matching across 2 doors of this size is easy....it just takes the desire to actually do it and possibly waste some wood....the math part of it is 'simple' yet does require paying attention to the details..