Mixing stain and BLO

[Prashun Patel]

I'm trying to match some eucalyptus to red mahogany ply. The mahog has BLO. BEATIFUL.

The eucalyptus (rose gum) has a pinkish/orange hue when BLO'd.

I'd like to tint the BLO with an oil stain. Any downsides to doing this or should I stain first and then BLO over top?

- shawn

[David Romano]

Generally speaking, separate small steps are better that 1 complex one. Unless there is a real good reason not to, I suggest stain then BLO. Most importantly though, do a test piece. I don't know how closely you need them to match, but you don't want to do the real thing unless you already know what it will look like. You might even expose both to sun for a week to see if they react differently to light. No surprises is a good thing!

David

[Prashun Patel]

Thanks. I'm definitely going to test first. My instinct is to stain and then oil in sep steps too, bkz the oil is supposed to soak good and long, and the stain is supposed to sit for only minutes.

[Steve Schoene]

If you tint the BLO with an oil stain, you are just diluting the stain significantly. Better to use a two step process--stain and then finish. I wouldn't use BLO for the finish. An oil/varnish mix will give you the same look and be quite a bit more durable.

You may find that the eucalyptus prefers to be colored with a dye, rather than a stain with pigment. (My experience is with Lyptus a hybrid eucalyptus.) It was so hard and dense that the pigment just lodged in the pores and almost entirely wiped off of the surfaces inbetween. But powdered aniline dye mixed with water worked quite well, gave even coloration.) The a little experimentation you should be able to get a pretty good match, since the grain structures will likely be quite similar.

[Prashun Patel]

Thanks a lot Steve. I'm planning on a couple wipe on varnish coats on top.

[Ryan Sparreboom]

Hey guys, I'm new here. Can you tell me what BLO is? Sorry, to hijak the post with dumb newbie question? I have used alot of finishes, but am unfamiliar with the term??

[glenn bradley]

Boiled Linseed Oil.

Shawn, it sounds like the BLO is not required as it is not going to give you the same coloring on a different material. It was probably used to pop the grain on the Mahog and although it may accent something on the Eucalyptus, the coloration will not be close.

Dyes are good for color matching as you can mix on the fly (keeping very accurate notes on what you're doing) till you get a color you like. Then referring to your PERFECT notes, make some more ;-) Also, dyes can be washed out or severely altered if required. Good luck and have fun with it.

Here's a good article by the amazing Mr. Jewitt: http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworki...F.aspx?id=2706

[Prashun Patel]

Thanks.

I experimented with a bunch of different stains. To be honest, I still like the effect of the BLO on the euc. How tacky would it be for me to leave it natural? The bench would therefore be 2-tone. I wonder if I'm the only 'purist' who'd au natural!