A new one for me - opaque finish

[Scott Brader]

I am in the early stages of building a pair of nightstands for my son and daughter-in-law. They informed me last night that they want a dark, opaque finish. I've done plenty of clear, stained and dyed projects and even one painted project, but I've never had a request quite like this. I normally finish to show off the wood, not hide it! They originally told me they wanted a dark stain and they liked a sample they had seen of the stain on maple. I bought the wood (and picked out some really nice grain, too!) and now they said they don't want to see the grain. That's fine, because the maple is easy to work with and was very reasonably priced at my hardwood supplier.

I suspect that I could use a tinted (wrong term???) lacquer, or something. I have a small HVLP sprayer that I am pretty comfortable with, but I've never sprayed lacquer and I don't have a place where I could safely spray a solvent-based lacquer. I'm trying to stay away from simply painting it because I don't think that would be very robust and not really the look they are going for.

I'd appreciate any help/suggestions anyone can offer to get me pointed in the right direction. I am just getting started on the project and I can only work on it in the evening, so it's going to be a while before I get to the finishing stage. I have Bob Flexner's book on finishing, but I haven't had time to look at it since they told me what they want.

Thanks in advance!
Scott

[John TenEyck]

There are several ways to get to the Pottery Barn look. You can use gel stain, this being on of GF's Jave on maple, one coat on the left, two on the right, followed by Arm-R-Seal gloss:



Or SW's BAC wiping stain (this was a custom mix, but they have some dark stock colors, too) works great on white oak, followed by Sealcoat shellac, then GF's Enduro Clear Poly:



The wood you choose has a big impact on how best to go about it. On porous wood like oak you can use a penetrating stain like the BAC wiping stain I used. But on maple that approach isn't going to work, hence the use of gel stain. You can spray toners, too, and get any color on any wood. Transtint dye in Sealcoat shellac or in your WB finish works very well.

If you let us know what wood you are using I think you'll get more specific recommendations.

John

[Scott Brader]

It's maple. I'm pretty sure I could get the look they want with multiple coats of a gel stain, but I was really hoping to be able to spray it. Part of my problem is that I am severely color blind, so I try to avoid having to custom mix anything whenever possible. It will be much easier if they can pick a commercially available stain so I don't have to rely on trying to color match something. They're in Florida and I'm in Wisconsin, so I can't just drag them along into the shop to play around with test pieces.

Scott

[Prashun Patel]

I've done my master bath cabinets and a friend's bar in this finish. Both cabinets were sapelle veneer. This regimen adds a yellow subcoat of dye underneath the dark dye. I encourage you to try a yellow base coat before the dark. The result is a lovely color depth in the light that makes the finish look rich. Just beware that done this way, your finish will appear more amber/red than John's expert example below.

Sand to 240g
Transtint Lemon Yellow @ 0.5% + Transtint Amber @ 0.5% in isopropyl alcohol. Sprayed. (You can just use one of these; the exact tint of yellow isn't critical). Let dry.
WDLockwood Dark Walnut #79 @ 2.0% in water. Flood on, wipe off excess. Let dry.
2 applications of Sealcoat shellac (sprayed).
Sand with 600 grit lightly.
5 coats Enduro Clear Poly White Satin, sprayed.

It's fairly fool proof. The shellac adds additional warmth of color, and makes the poly coats go on evenly, which helps me not to over-apply it (risking a plastic look).

[Scott Brader]

That's a beautiful finish! Thanks!

[Jim Becker]

Maybe...paint...is the solution...it's certainly opaque!!!

[Andy Giddings]

Jim's right - painted MDF - save you a bunch and absolutely no chance of grain

[Wayne Lomman]

Just stain it with a dye stain and then add the same stain to your lacquer. It is called toning. Each coat blanks out more figure. Common practice with dodgy furniture in the 70s. Cheers

[Scott Brader]

Thanks for all the input. It may all be a moot point now, anyway, because last night he told me they have picked a General Finishes Merlot dye stain with a flat or satin topcoat. That makes my life a whole lot easier!


Scott

[Prashun Patel]

Test on a sample. Maple can blotch... If you have that issue on the test samples, write back. There are ways around that.

[Scott Brader]

Thanks, Prashun, I'm sure I'll be back for suggestions!

I always do a test first (I learned that the hard way early on...). On this project, I'm going to do a few tests and send them to the kids so they can give their blessing to the one they want. I typically do a washcoat of dewaxed shellac before hitting it with the dye or stain as my first test piece. I don't know how that will work with this product, but I'll still give it a try first.

I'm open to any help or suggestions. I actually enjoy the finishing stage quite a bit, but my bad color vision makes it difficult sometimes. My wife isn't even available to help with colors because she is in Pennsylvania with our other son and daughter-in-law helping them out as he recovers from chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant for recurrent lymphoma.

Scott

[Andy Giddings]

I have that stain and it is more red than the photo John posted when applied to Maple, definitely not a Pottery Barn look

[Scott Brader]

That's why I'll do samples to send them before I finish the whole thing. I don't want to get into the mess of removing finish because they don't like it.

Scott