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I’ve run into a problem finishing panels to a cabinet that I’m building. The panels are made of 3/4″ Birch Ply. The finish sand was done with 230. I applied two coats of Bartleys Gel Stain “Brown Mahogany”, allowing 12hrs between coats. Both coats were rubbed until dry to the touch. Everything looked great. When I went to apply the final Bartley Gel Clear Satin, I noticed that the piece started to spot and streak in areas ruining the finish. It looks like parts of the second coat wiped off creating lighter areas. I made sure that the piece was clean and dry before applying the coats. Paper towel was used to apply the gel and rub it out to insure no contamination. Has anyone see this problem before with gel stains/varnish? This is the first time I’ve tried them. Does anyone have a recommendation for repairing the finish if at all possible.
Thanks
Vince
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From your description, I suspect that you may have two problems here. One is simply your choice of wood, I'm sorry to say. Birch is a lot like cherry, it doesn't stain well, meaning that it is prone to splotching. The other problem is not that you didn't allow enough time for the stain to dry, but that you may have left too much of a film of stain on the surface, so that the solvents in the clear finish reactivated the stain, causing it to streak.
All is not lost, however. With finishing, like most of woodworking, you can usually fix any mistakes that occur. One solution to your current predicament will require that you learn how to apply a glaze. Do you have any books on finishing, or back issues of FWW?
*Thanks Jed,I have read the Finishing books from Tauton Press which are reprints of articles in Fine Woodworking. I've also read a few other books on finishing. For the most part it is an art that you must master by trial and error. I'm going to try to buff it with a solvent and a compound abrasive to see if I can even the finish again. If that doesn't work then I'll try the toner/glaze route. Thanks again for the input.
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