Hi all,

More DIY…

Putting together a small box, mix of pine and plywood. The main piece will be dark, but a couple parts fitted later will be a lighter shade. Would like a smooth satin finish.

I understand a sealer is required to get an even stain, especially with soft wood.

So I’m thinking
– Seal both the main piece and the other parts.
– Stain the parts either dark or light.
– Glue the light parts to the dark piece, being careful not to get glue on visible surfaces.
– Once glue has set, varnish complete box with clear satin varnish.

That all seems fine. However, the more I read into it, the more confused I get.

– Do most stains now-a-days incorporate a sealer in them?
– Once the wood is sealed, does the stain act more like a paint, in that it covers the grain?
– Does the sealer, stain, and varnish need to have the same base (water or oil)?
– Oil based is more durable I believe?

Thanks,
Duane.

Anyone? 🙂

would seem counterintuitive to put sealer on before stain…

I’d just be staining it then varnish and that’s it…

Probably a bit amateur tho…

Yeah, general consensus seems that softer woods have uneven grain structure (so will be more dense in certain areas) – meaning different areas of the wood will absorb different amounts of stain, giving an uneven finish. The sealer basically blocks the ends of the grain so it all absorbs the same amount.

For a nice satin finish that’s very forgiving of brush strokes and dribbles I recommend Dulux Trade polyurethane varnish in satin. It shrinks down and dries to a nice waxy sheen. Could give you the remains of a tin if you happened to be in Lancashire but would be reluctant to post it in case it burst open.

Having just stained and varnished all new doors and skirting throughout my house I’ll wade in.

1. I don’t believe stains generally contain a sealer. I use Sadoline stuff which has always given consistent results without a sealer.
2. If you use interior stain it won’t cover the grain. I have seen some exterior stains act more like a paint and obscure the grain.
3. No. The combination I’ve been using is oil based stain with water based varnish. To be honest I didn’t even think to check this but there has been no unwanted reaction between the two.
4. Don’t have experience of water based stains to compare oil to.

Overall, I stain one day and allow it 24 hours to fully dry before varnishing. The stain will be much darker on the end grain and look patchy without graduated sanding down to a really fine grade (I use 320 for the last going over) I also find that without a fine finish to the end grain that the stain on the end grain bleeds down along the grain more and appears as streaks further down. Two coats of varnish followed by a fine sand and then a final third coat.

Cheers for the replies.

globalti – thanks for the offer but afraid I’m in Derby.

Carrying on with this – but for a different project.

I have some plywood and pine I would like to stain a dark brown, but keeping the grain visible.

Is there a better (cheaper?) option than a Colron wood dye (http://www.homebase.co.uk/en/homebaseuk/decorating/wood-stain-and-dye/colron-refined-wood-dye-walnut—250ml-211561) and a coat of clear satin varnish over?

Are these stains pretty much a coloured varnish? Will they give a good finish?
http://www.homebase.co.uk/en/homebaseuk/decorating/wood-paint-and-preservative/homebase-quick-drying-woodstain-walnut—250ml-427982

I am dealing with 2 wood types, as well as end grain, so hoping to get a dark enough finish that it all look OK.

Thanks,
Duane.

Why not use hardwood instead of pine?
Many timber merchants offer “hobby packs” of smallish offcuts.

Because I already had pine 😛