Happy New Year Everyone!
Wane here, been hanging around knots for a few years, now the reno is getting to the finishing stage and I thought you guys might be best to answer this one. I have just finished a cherry entrance door, probably the worst wood I could have picked to start out but .. I can’t seem to get the depth and warmth from aniline dyes that I can from oil based pigment stains, the current finish schedule is:
sand to 220,
raise the grain with H2O,
re-sand 220,
dye with lee valley, antique cherry aniline dye,
seal with de-waxed shellac,
minwax oil based gunstock,
clear finish (test samples with deft gloss lacquer – temp for testing, just what I had on hand)
This has resolved the “splotchiness” and sapwood/heartwood issues but, is there something I missing to get more warmth/depth out of the dyes without having to use the pigment stain?, and would a long varnish be the best clear coat for an exterior door?, thanks in advance.
Wane
Replies
going home ...
Dyes always look bland to me and I usually need the pigmented oil base stain to get the look that I'm after and to bring the color together. I think you will also need the oil based product over the dye in the application that you are attempting. I will have to say however if that door gets a lot of sunlight you will be forever working on it to keep it maintained and looking decent. I don't think the dye alone will be colorfast so you will need the oil based stain to help it deal with the sun. The sun and rain will however eventually win and you will be stuck with redoing the door within a couple of years.
My suggestion would be to save yourself a lot of trouble and paint the outside of the door and put the stain and varnish on the interior. If you persist with the finish on the exterior you will need to use spar varnish or you might want to get some advice from folks that know about wooden boat finishes.
Ron
thanks Ron, comforting to hear I'm not too far off the mark, the door is in a covered porch so I may give it a try and if necessary a storm door over it ...
What is your goal in staining and/or dying the cherry to begin with?
Exterior clear finishes that last are limited to a couple of very expensive varnishes that are made for boats. Even those require something like 8 coats to begin with and a new coat every year or two followed by a strip and refinish job down the road a bit. Storm doors create their own set of problems by causing a mini-climate that can be very hot and humid even in the winter.
I guess where I am going with this is if you want a clear finish on the outside of an exterior door be prepared for an expensive, high maintenance proposition.
Rob
thanks, the purpose of the stain is to even out the tones and match the rest of the wood work in the house. I didn't think the clear coat was going to be such an issue the porch where this door is going faces north and is covered. All the redwood in this porch has been done in Sikiens (Cetol 1, 2 & 3) and has been good for 4 or 5 years .. maybe I should go this route?? Whadayathink??
If this door will be protected from the elements and get little or no direct sun that will help a lot. Don't use anything you can get at the big box stores or anything made by Minwax on the door. If you have a proven winner with the Sikiens, I don't see any reason not to use it.
Rob
For a 'richer' tone I dye, seal and then apply a glaze. (Star Nu-Glaze a "Heavy Bodied Pigmented Glaze") You can control the results with the way you wipe off the glaze after 3 - 5 minutes.
Finally finish with you normal topcoat(s).
Frosty
"I sometimes think we consider the good fortune of the early bird and overlook the bad fortune of the early worm." FDR - 1922
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