help staining pine dark brown/black

[a_macca]

hello,

i am hoping someone here could help ease my frustration....i am new to staining and am having difficulty achieving a dark black tone in my bare pine wood surface....

I am using Black Japan stain and am hoping to get a deep black but still able to see some grain....the bloke at bunnings albiet non inspiring pointed me in the direction of black japan as it is semi tranparent, however i am not sure the problem maybe in my application.

Firstly i am following the directions when it says sand and prepare etc...then apply evenly, however i have been applying the stain with a foam brush and have tried then wiping excess off after about 5 mins (hav even tried up to 15) which doesnt produce a desirable colour (its way too light), repeating this process by applying more coats doesnt work very well either (still very light for a black).

My question is, am I doing this correctly? or should i only need to apply the one coat and just let it dry completley, not wiping any excess off?


thank goodness these issues are only on test pieces, i loathe finishing

[Manuka Jock]

What is the object that you wish to stain , what grain figure does this pine have , and can you post a few photos of the piece ?

[wisno]

Yes it is.
It is very difficult to get the dark color by wiping application stain.
Np matter how many you apply your stain it will give you the same result.
You may try to to use the darker stain.
But the easier is if you apply your stain by spray.
By spray application you can control your stain layer until you get your color.


Good luck

wisno

[minus459]

when using a stain you will or should always have the grain visible, having said that see if you can source Mirotone stains, it has been too long since I used them, but they certainly had some very good blacks when I did.

Good Luck
undies

[acmegridley]

Go to a craft shop and get some indian ink and mix it in with what you are staining with cant get it any blacker than that

[mic-d]

in addition, don't sand more than 180 grit before applying the stain. The finer you sand the less stain is absorbed.

Cheers
Michael

[ubeaut]

Black Japan id basically tar (the stuff they repair the road with) and won't give you a black but more of a deep brown.

Try getting some black stain or lamp black stain (Wattyl have it and I'm sure most other manufacturers will also) and using that as a base, then for the top coat use shellac or whatever your preferred surface coating may be with lamp black universal tint (the stuff in the carousel at bunnies or paint shop they use to colour paint) added to it.

If you just want a jet black surface paint it black the grain pattern will still show through to a certain extent.

Cheers - Neil

PS Black Japan is only black (almost) when it's left as a thick surface coating and not used as a stain. Was mostly used on floors (yonks ago) often as a border around the room. This border was there to fill the void between the carpet rug in the centre of the room and the wall. Much nicer than bare boards.

As a kid I used to go to the council's road repair truck and pinch tar from the bucket(s) hanging on the back of the truck and melt it down with turpentine to use for a stain. Basically that is what BJ is.

[mic-d]

As a kid I used to go to the council's road repair truck and pinch tar from the bucket(s) hanging on the back of the truck and melt it down with turpentine to use for a stain. Basically that is what BJ is.

"Back in my day..."
Now they just go to the hardware store and pinch aerosol 'stains'
Cheers
Michael

[ubeaut]

"Back in my day..."
Now they just go to the hardware store and pinch aerosol 'stains'
Cheers
Michael

You mean there's actually aerosol stains

[horse123]

I have stained a few pine picecs & other timbers with out any issusses the more coats ussually 2 or 3 the darker the color will try to up load a pic or two.
I have sprayed & applied it with a rag on a few occassions now, you can also get a pine sealer made by feast & watson wich goes on before the stain. Cheers

[chrapladm]

I have the same Feast watson Black Japan and I just followed the instructions and applied Black stain then applied the Black Japan and I was able to achieve the black I wanted.

I was trying to get black and with the additional japan black it has a very durable surface..

I still have to build a center channel speaker which I will again be using the black and Japan Black to achieve my results.

I will post some pics when I can. BUT I did learn as I go after purchasing this product and my other experiences with this product I ended up staining 2x's with a brush but I think I would have been better off if I had know not to sand past 180. I had a nice 400git on their. So I wasn't to happy in the beginning. I think I will finish my other center channel in about 2 weeks.

I will be using a cloth to apply the stain this time. I enjoyed applying the Jarrah stain on the sides with a cloth so I will stick with that method.

[Harry72]

Yep Chrapladm you hit the nail on the head, the trick is in the sanding coarser the grit the darker it will be as the surface has a "key" to hold more dark stain... but theres a point that too coarse will show as sanding marks 80 grit.
I only use oil based stains and apply thick film finishes on pinus crapiarta
DONT APPLY SANDING SEALER its counter productive before staining!

This is how I do it, after any panel glue ups and before any frame assembly with each piece apply any fillers on dents/scratches then I finish to up 180~240g by a ROS then go back over it by hand with a coarse 100~120 paper following the direction of the grain starting at one end all the way through too the other end in one continuous stroke.
Before starting staining on your project do some trails on offcuts, note down what procedure you take to get the optimum colour ie: how many stokes and what grits used and staining procedure.

Mask up any joints to be glued, brush on the stain nice and thick leave for about 2 minutes(surface should stay wet)make up a rubber from rags and rub it well in until it starts to tack up then buff off with another rag.(elbow grease in liberal amounts)

Ps, pine can vary heaps in texture and "blotching" if its from different forests
Pss if you need to patch up with filler do it before sanding... unless you want to obstruct the grain as stains really love porous fillers more than the wood. If you fill small spot after sanding on a panel it will take up more stain and create a nasty looking blotch, you are better off filling the whole panel and resanding... but then this panel will be darker than the rest!
Pine will always show grain(gets worse as it ages too)so if you want jet black dont use pine mdf is a better option