stains

[hortonstn]

are alcohol based stains better to use on maple than oil based stains?

[Hungry Horse]

 Oil stains have a hard time penetrating really good hard maple, and staying there when handled a lot. Alcohol stains are better if they are a genuine wood stain. Some leather stains sun fade Feibing’s comes to mind, some don’t Lincoln’s for example. Acid stains work best on maple. This gets you light, and dark contrast. Then, color tint with alcohol based stain to get golds, reds, light browns.

  Hungry Horse

[smallpatch]

Oil based stains muddy up figure.  Alcohol based for sure.  Or ferric nitrate.

[hortonstn]

thanks

[Hungry Horse]

 If you want to get the maximum contrast out of your curly maple, I would advise you to give the sanded, and whiskered, stock two coats of tanic acid, and when dry, a couple of coats of ferric nitrate, or vinegaroon, blushed after each application with a heat gun. If it turns black, rub it back with scotch rite. If you want golds, or red, highlights then use your stain. It sounds like a lot of work, but its well worth it.

  Hungry Horse

[Jeff Durnell]

Great info. Has anyone here used Transtint dyes?

[Stoner creek]

Great info. Has anyone here used Transtint dyes?

I use the Trans-tint honey amber frequently as a base color only. Mixed 1 parts tint and 4 parts water. Denatured alcohol will work in the place of water. Turns the wood a nice bright yellow.  This will give the figure a nice golden undertone. I’ll follow with my primary stain next. Almost always a nitrate based stain. Only exception would be really soft maple which I don’t use anymore.

[Daniel Coats]

Josey Wales : Works wonders on just about everything, eh?

Carpetbagger : It can do most anything.

Josey Wales : [spits tobacco juice on the carpetbagger's coat]  How is it with stains?

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I endorse Hungry Horse's method...nothing else compares.

[Daryl]

This one, needs to be redone with ferric nitrate & tanic acid. Hands and the sun have worn the finish off.

Ahhh - maybe it still looks OK for a while. Taylor could tell you what he stained it with. Wasn't the above.