New to finishing, have a question

[Dale Turner]

Hello, I'm a novice woodworker and I'm trying to get better at finishing techniques so please bear with the general question. I'm doing a wood project out of poplar for a friend and he has requested that it look 'like this'. I did tell him that it wouldn't be an exact match as that's almost impossible, but how would you guys approach trying to get poplar to the finish color in the pic?

Thanks in advance

book press.jpg

[Jim Becker]

A dark dye...perhaps with more than one application, sealed with de-waxed shellac and then possibly a gel stain to get the tone darker before final finishing. It will be very hard to get this color level in "one step". And no, you will not get it with an off-the shelf pigment stain from the home center. (Minwax, etc) It takes work to get the full regimen figured out...so as always, work it out on scrap of the same material you'll make the project from. Never experiment on the real project!

[Jim Rimmer]

Jim Becker nailed it.

[Dale Turner]

Thanks for the reply Jim. I'm used Minwax a few times and never got the results I expected. Can you recommend a good dye to try out?

[Rich Engelhardt]

I've been very favorably impressed with the Rustoleum Ultimate Wood Stain.
Unlike MinWax, the Rustoleum is very heavily pigmented and can take even a light color like Poplar down to a very deep brown.

Lowes has just recently started to carry this product. I picked some up to stain a piece of Pine trim a dark brown.
Normally Pine turns out very ugly and blotchy when you try to take it own to a deep shade of color.

I was pleasantly surprised that the Rustoleum product didn't do that.

[Robert Maloney]

I don't know if this is close for you. This was a mock up I did for my daughter's gymnastics team. It is poplar with Charles Neil's Blotch Control, General finishes Espresso Stain, Dewaxed shellac then top coat. Might be a starting point for you.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Thanks for the reply Jim. I'm used Minwax a few times and never got the results I expected. Can you recommend a good dye to try out?

Never saw Minwax dye - I think their stuff is all stains??

Stain is not the same as dye. Stain has big [relatively] chunks of pigment that sit on the surface. Dye pigment "chunks" are microscpoic - they absorb into the wood cells.

The standard go-to dye is Homestead Finishing's Transtint [there are, of course, others]. Comes in little squeeze bottles. Works with water or DNA as the solvent. The dye goes into suspension - does not need to be constantly stirred a la stain. Water is great for beginner, because you can wipe it on and move it around and rub it with a dry rag to get it even, without lap marks. You can flood it, let it sit for absorptions, and then wipe it off. You can go back for a 2d application.

Should be available at any local Rockler or Woodcraft store, or about a half-jillion on-line places.

[Jim Becker]

I personally use Transtint and Transfast dye; water soluble. Small stuff I'll wipe on, but lately I've been spraying larger assemblies for more even results.

[Dale Turner]

I personally use Transtint and Transfast dye; water soluble. Small stuff I'll wipe on, but lately I've been spraying larger assemblies for more even results.

What do you all recommend for a top coat?

[Jim Becker]

Dale, I happen to use Target Coatings EM6000 the majority of the time, but there are a number of great finishing products that folks like to use. Since I spray, water borne finishes are the only thing I will use for safety reasons other than the shellac I use as a barrier coat (after dye and/or oil) and sometimes "the" finish on a decorative item. Oil based products are best hand-applied (brushed/wiped) because of the slow dry times...I have nothing against oil based varnishes, but I prefer the methods and products I've been using now for quite a few years due to the speed, efficiency and easy cleanup.

[Dale Turner]

thought you guys might want to see the finished product. Thanks for the advice on the finish... I followed it and they turned out great!

[George Bokros]

Lowes has just recently started to carry this product.

My Lowes told me this week they are discontinuing the Rustoleum stain.