Lightening an oil stain

[John Holder]

I have a bed that I am staining and in testing the plywood and the solid, the ply seems to soak up the stain and drys much darker than the solid wood. It is african mohagany, and the grain seems very similar. I was using minwax red mohagany. Is there a way to lighten the stain or something I can apply to the ply to keep it from sopping it up. Or should I just try and darken the solid with more coats or blending with a gel after a shellac? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[Prashun Patel]

IMHO, the best is to preseal the ply with a light coat of shellac or your top coat thinned way down. This 'washcoat' will accomplish what yr looking to do. However, it's not a science, so you'll have to test to get it to your satisfaction.