Replies

1. 
   SteveSchoene | Jul 28, 2008 05:04pm | #1

   Wash coats are generally more effective preceeding pigmented stain and are more effective on softer woods than on maple.  Dye prefers to go on bare wood.  If dye is properly applied there is generally a lot less blotching than would occur with a pigmented stain.  (By properly applied I only mean that it should be applied generously--I like a sponge.  This helps make it the case that all portions of the wood, dense or porous, get saturated.  When that occurs it is mostly the strength of the dye solution that determines the darkness.)  Notice I am using weasel words--as in less blotching.  Sometimes there is still too much blotch.  . 

   On relatively porous woods, a very light shellac wash coat might work OK under a dye, but with maple it doesn't take much to seal all but the most porous swirls in the wood, so you get dye staying on top.  One thing to try is to quickly wet the surface before applying the dye.  The effect of this is similar to a wash coat but it really doesn't block dye, just slows absorption. 

    

2. 
   HowardAcheson | Jul 28, 2008 08:35pm | #2

   The "wash coat" of shellac sealed the surface of the board. Therefore, a waterbased dye can not penetrate. Sometimes a high thinned coat of shellac (1/4# cut or less), will still allow some water based dye to penetrate but a 1# cut won't.

   Howie........
1. 
   honda | Jul 29, 2008 03:44am | #3

   Try 3 parts water to 1 part water base poly for you wash coat.

1. 
   HowardAcheson | Jul 29, 2008 09:12pm | #5

   >> Try 3 parts water to 1 part water base poly for you wash coat.You need to be careful adding water to waterborne finishes. Water is not a thinner. It's carrier of other chemicals and the water keeps them apart until it evaporates. Once the water evaporates, it allows the other chemicals to come into contact, liquefy and become the finish. If you add water you risk keeping the chemicals so far apart that they will never go into the coelescing process.Waterborne finishes should not be thinned any more than stated on the label.
   Howie.........

3. 
   Rich14 | Jul 29, 2008 04:19pm | #4

   bmyyou,

   Welcome to the wonderful world of finishing. In the famous words of some politician, trying to explain why something wasn't turning out the way it was supposed to, "Well it's a process."

   Sometimes things work easily, other times, not.

   Maple is not an easy wood to which to apply colorant (dye or pigment), a fact to which you will very soon be an expert!

   Some maple pieces stain very nicely and evenly, giving first-timers a false sense of confidence before they encounter the other 85% which take color in a "blotchy" way, no matter what. This fact of life gave rise to the secret order opposed to coloring maple, of which I am lifetime president.

   I don't like maple finished any other way but as blond as possible. I think it's beautiful that way. I don't like even the most subtle shading. Which is fortunate for me, as I can ignore all the advice about getting even coloring.

   Many of the usual suggestions have already been made. It's very useful to lightly pre-wet the surface first. Multiple application of a very dilute solution, quickly applied to as wide an area as possible is almost the equivalent.

   Because "pros" need to work quickly and get consistent results, many avoid directly staining maple whenever possible. Instead, their technique is to use "glazing" which is the application of colored finish. The surface is first sealed, then any combination (depending on experience) of multiple coats of clear and tinted finish is applied.

   Lacquer is the finish most commonly used in this way, but any finish can be tinted including shellac (use alcohol-soluble dyes) and varnish.

   The process is most forgiving and consistent in terms of the color achieved, but may (not always) tend to obscure the grain and figure a little. There is always compromise in everything.

   Rich