I am going to stain some pine doors. Is Ben Moore's "Wood Conditoner" a
better product to use prior to staining, as opposed to the equivalent Minwax
product? I intend to just use a "natural" stain.
I have about 6 doors to stain, so I don't want to make a mistake.
Any other finishing tips would be appreciated. I plan to use 2 or 3 coats
of gloss poly followed by a coat of flat poly.
On Sun, 24 Oct 2004 12:09:48 -0400, "Buck Turgidson"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>I am going to stain some pine doors. Is Ben Moore's "Wood Conditoner" a
>better product to use prior to staining, as opposed to the equivalent Minwax
>product? I intend to just use a "natural" stain.
With Natural stain, don't bother with a pre-coat. I often use Natural
_as_ the pre-coat. You won't be able to see botching.
>Any other finishing tips would be appreciated. I plan to use 2 or 3 coats
>of gloss poly followed by a coat of flat poly.
If you use oil based poly, you may be able to skip the stain
altogether. Pick up a pine board, cut it in two, sand it, stain one,
and poly both. See if you can see a difference.
Barry
Most conditioners are made from thinned finishes, for example 1/2 to 1 lb
cut shellac. If you buy shellac at the store it will need to be diluted
with denatured alcohol with a ratio of 1 part shellac to 2-5 parts alcohol.
Also, mineral spirits can work, although you need to hurry a bit more with
that, as it evaporates faster than wood conditioner. Run with the gel
stain...forget conditioning. Especially important with cherry....
Mike
"Rolling Thunder" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Sun, 24 Oct 2004 16:49:12 -0500, "RonB" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >The MinWax product works fine. I think mineral spirits will do pretty
much
> >the same thing.
> >
>
> Having just asked the question about wood conditioner's make up on
> another board, I was told the conditioner is refined linseed oil.
>
> Thunder
>
> P.S. I was also told that using a gel stain doesn't require a wood
> conditioner.
>
On Sun, 24 Oct 2004 21:39:20 GMT, "toller" <[email protected]> wrote:
>Question...
>Why do you want to use a "natural" stain?
>Why not just leave it unstained? (which is what I think a "natural" stain
>does anyhow...)
I don't know about that... natural stain is what I always use (mainly
because I'm crappy at staining things and colored stain tends to wreck
whatever I just built) and it makes the grain pop nicely, and makes it
just a little darker. Looks nicer than unstained, IMO.
If you have access to HVLP, I suggest spraying a dye stain. That will
prevent blotching altogether. Otherwise you'll be at the mercy of a
conditioner's ability to even out the stain.
David
Buck Turgidson wrote:
> I am going to stain some pine doors. Is Ben Moore's "Wood Conditoner" a
> better product to use prior to staining, as opposed to the equivalent Minwax
> product? I intend to just use a "natural" stain.
>
> I have about 6 doors to stain, so I don't want to make a mistake.
>
> Any other finishing tips would be appreciated. I plan to use 2 or 3 coats
> of gloss poly followed by a coat of flat poly.
>
>
"Rolling Thunder" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>
> Having just asked the question about wood conditioner's make up on
> another board, I was told the conditioner is refined linseed oil.
>
> Thunder
I think we are talking a different application. Pre-stain conditioner
consists of aliphatic hydrocarbons according to the Minwax can.
My can of BLO says nothing about hydrocarbons. But it can be used to
"condition" wood as a protective coating.
"Rolling Thunder" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> P.S. I was also told that using a gel stain doesn't require a wood
> conditioner.
>
I think those guys did you wrong.
http://www.bartleycollection.com/finish.htm
From the Bartley's web page under finishing:
Common Staining Problems
Certain woods like soft pine, maple, and birch often absorb stains unevenly.
To help overcome this problem on soft woods and endgrains, first apply a
coat of Gel Varnish, wipe it nearly dry, arid then follow immediately with a
coat of gel stain. Inì this case, the varnish acts as a conditioner and
eliminates much of the blotchiness.
On Sun, 24 Oct 2004 16:49:12 -0500, "RonB" <[email protected]> wrote:
>The MinWax product works fine. I think mineral spirits will do pretty much
>the same thing.
>
Having just asked the question about wood conditioner's make up on
another board, I was told the conditioner is refined linseed oil.
Thunder
P.S. I was also told that using a gel stain doesn't require a wood
conditioner.
Q. What does a "wood conditioner" do?
A. Certain woods have areas of varying density. These areas absorb
stains at different rates, creating darker spots, known as blotches.
A wood conditioner simply soaks into the wood, with the more porous
areas absorbing more conditioner. This controls the absorption of the
colored stain, lessening the differences between the more and less
porous areas of wood. This makes for less blotching.
Substances that I've successfully used as wood conditioner:
Branded Wood Conditioners (Minwax, Ben Moore, etc...)
Mineral spirits or turpentine
"Natural" stain of the same brand in use
A thin shellac (1/2-1 lb cut) spit coat
Thinned varnishes
Oils, such as thinned boiled linseed oil
In short, any substance that soaks in and is compatible with the stain
will work. Some of the substances soak in faster than others, some
need to dry before the colored stain is applied. Practice on scrap.
Barry
"Buck Turgidson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:ltQed.33579$cN6.26884@lakeread02...
>I am going to stain some pine doors. Is Ben Moore's "Wood Conditoner" a
> better product to use prior to staining, as opposed to the equivalent
> Minwax
> product? I intend to just use a "natural" stain.
If you are using natural stain, you don't need conditioner. Natual is so
light is is julylike putting a little oil on the door.
As for brands, they are mostly just mineral spirits anyway.
> Any other finishing tips would be appreciated. I plan to use 2 or 3 coats
> of gloss poly followed by a coat of flat poly.
Thin the first coat of poly a bit. Apply, sand, apply full coat, sand, apply
last coat, sand with 400 grit.