Need help with botched and blotched finish

[Bryan Hunt]

I started staining the cabinet I just finished, and it looks horrible. I could certainly use some expert advice.

The cabinet is constructed from maple plywood with a hard maple face. I sanded to 220 then gave then cabinet a washcoat of Zinzer Seal Coat diluted 50% with denatured alcohol. I then gave it a light hand sanding with 320 and applied a General Finishes water based stain.

DSC_0060.jpgDSC_0056.jpgDSC_0059.jpgDSC_0058.jpgDSC_0057.jpg

As you can see, the back is not too bad, but the rest of the cabinet looks awful. I'm planning on sanding it down and starting over. Would you still recommend the seal coat? Should I switch to an oil based stain? Do something completely different? The only requirement (from the wife) is that it be close to this color.

Bryan

[Scott Holmes]

Maple is a wood that does not stain well as you have learned. There are a few options...

1. Strip it and start overThis time using dye instead of a pigment stain.

2. Seal the stain in with shellac, then you can add a "toner" to even out the color. Then top coat.

3. Seal the stain in with shellac, then you can add a gel stain to blend the color. This is called a "glaze" coat. Then seal and top coat.

Options 1 & 2 or 1 & 3 could also be used together.

This is NOT something to learn on this project. Do the entire process - start to finish on a min of 12"x24" piece of scrap.

[Peter Clark]

To Start, Two things- Cubbies are some of the hardest things to stain. I don't have any experience with water based stain. That said-

I would use a high quality oil stain, your choice based on location. I would also use the conditioner recommended by the manufacturer for compatibility reasons. I find the working time of oil based is better for me.

I would make up some scrap test pieces to use while learning the proper sequence. Make some with corners to help you learn how to do them.

Some conditioners say to let them dry, I like the ones that work while still a little wet. Faster for me. Some stains with high penetration levels (dark colors such as yours) work best if you brush or spray on the coat, then wipe. I usually end up using a brush (for corners) and a rag to apply the stain, then use a semi clean rag to remove what I don't want. Always wipe with the grain, just like sanding. Even the corners. I start in the corner and wipe out into the field. If you are leaving Marks on the other side of the corner, place a piece of thin (1/16" or less) material in the corner to protect the adjacent finish.

Heat and humidity play a huge factor in finishing.

A good quality finish takes time!

Good luck!

[del schisler]

I started staining the cabinet I just finished, and it looks horrible. I could certainly use some expert advice.

The cabinet is constructed from maple plywood with a hard maple face. I sanded to 220 then gave then cabinet a washcoat of Zinzer Seal Coat diluted 50% with denatured alcohol. I then gave it a light hand sanding with 320 and applied a General Finishes water based stain.

DSC_0060.jpgDSC_0056.jpgDSC_0059.jpgDSC_0058.jpgDSC_0057.jpg

As you can see, the back is not too bad, but the rest of the cabinet looks awful. I'm planning on sanding it down and starting over. Would you still recommend the seal coat? Should I switch to an oil based stain? Do something completely different? The only requirement (from the wife) is that it be close to this color.

Bryan

here is what you should have done. This is blotch ply wood is very hard to stain. You need this blotch control that is mfd. By Charles Neil here is a video on what should have been done . You can fix this but it will be very hard to do. http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=...30/IfCYMdrP8rM I use this stuff and it work's very well.

[Harvey Pascoe]

Just another reminder of why I hate stains and never use them.

Isn't putting a water base on top of a shellac sealer the essence of the problem here? I would never put a stain on top of a sealer.