staining tas oak

[andrew30]

HI Everyone,

I've made a dining table out of Tasmanian Oak (Victorian Ash). I've stained it with one coat of Feast Watson - Black Japan. Now I want it darker than it is with just one coat but when I add a second coat on a test section it doesn't really darken it much at all. I'm wary of wiping too much on and not wiping it off properly.

The tin says that I should 'seal' it with Feast Watson - french polish before top coating. Will this (the french polish and top coat) cause it to daken more?

I tried using prooftint black under a coat of black japn but it didn't come out like I wanted.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,

[c fender]

hello,

I am not too sure about Tasmanian Oak, but European oak can be treated before finishing with ammoniac. The tannins in the wood react to ammoniac- which naturally happens over ( a lot of) time due to the ammoniac in the air.
No need to apply it direct on to the wood, you can "smoke" the wood, by leaving a cup filled with ammonia in a- preferably air tight- room with the furniture probably 24 hrs.
As it can make oak turn a bit purplish and all trees vary naturally, I recommend testing the reaction on a small smple first.
After this you can finish the wood accordingly.

please let me know how you went, as I have never worked with Tasmanian Oak.

Claire

[ubeaut]

Exercise extreme caution if you use ammonia. Fuming this way is usually done in a tent made of plastic or in a specially built room. Very bad, suffocating fumes. Make sure you really know what you are doing before attempting this.

If black proof tint followed by black Japan isn't dark enough just what kind of colour are you trying to achieve?

[journeyman Mick]

...............If black proof tint followed by black Japan isn't dark enough just what kind of colour are you trying to achieve?

I'd suggest that if this isn't dark enough thena can of black spray paint is called for. :eek:

Mick

[andrew30]

Thanks for everyone suggestions! The colour that blk japan gives is a dark brown/blk. After using proof tint blk and then staining with blk japan, it was really quite black. I'm happy with the tone of the first coat of blk japan but would just like it a bit darker.

Now that I've stained it with blk japan once already, is it too late to use prooftint blk/walnut? could I try it over the first coat of black japan? (Of course I'd test it first).

The other thing I'm confused by is that the tin of blk japan says I should seal it with feast watson french polish before top coating to ensure that the stain doesn't 'bleed' into the top coat. However when I read the french polish tin it says I shouldn't use it on table tops! Do I or don't I??

I might steer clear from the fumigating option I reckon I'd come off second best!

Cheers,

[Jill]

Hi Andrew,

I don't have answers to your questions regarding these products, but just wanted to share my extremely stress-free staining method...

I blend artists oil paints to make the colour I want, thinned with (orange) turps, and some oil added (olive or other natural oil). That way you can make the exact shade you want (testing on scraps of the same timber).

For a pine wardrobe, say, to make it a nice warm 'old pine' shade, I used about half a tube of each: raw sienna, burnt umber & burnt sienna - with about 1/2 cup of turps, stir till thinned and no lumps, then add about 3 cups of oil (depending on size of piece).

For something like you are trying to achieve, you could use lots of black, with smaller amounts of burnt umber and burnt sienna until you get the colour and depth you want.

It's easy to put on - just brush it on and wipe off excess 20 mins later. No streaking, overbrushing, etc. possible. And if you want it darker, you can redo it without a problem. Want it a slightly different shade - no problem, just do a second coat that is stronger in the desired colour. Then finish a couple of days later with tung oil or similar turps based finish. Works for me, anyway.

Cheers,

Jill

[ubeaut]

Probably be a good idea to see if you can wash off the BJ you already have on the surface with turps, then add some lamp black universal tint to the BJ and re apply to the whole thing again. You can seal the BJ with shellac then apply polyurethane or seal it with our U-BeautHard Shellac and if the colour still isn't what you want add a little of the lamp black to the shellac for a second and third coat, sand lightly with 600-800 grit wet n dry then apply a final coat of clear Hard Shellac and finish off with EEE-Ultra ShineHope this helps.

Cheers - Neil

[aabb]

Probably be a good idea to see if you can wash off the BJ you already have on the surface with turps, then add some lamp black universal tint to the BJ and re apply to the whole thing again. You can seal the BJ with shellac then apply polyurethane or seal it with our U-BeautHard Shellac and if the colour still isn't what you want add a little of the lamp black to the shellac for a second and third coat, sand lightly with 600-800 grit wet n dry then apply a final coat of clear Hard Shellac and finish off with EEE-Ultra ShineHope this helps.

Cheers - Neil

Neil (and others!),

I am making tassie oak hall table and am thinking about finishes. Want to retain wood colour (wet) and have smooth finish semi gloss like. Was looking at various u-beaut products today and though about french polish and then perhaps eee or trad wax.............. How does that sound..

PS ordered Polishers Handbook today so greaty looking forward to reading that before I finish table.

Thanks
Albert

[andrew30]

HI everyone,

I think I've worked out what I want. In a nutshell I'd been treating blk japan as a stain like i used in woodwork at school where you apply it and wipe off the excess after 30 seconds. Black Japan can be applied almost like a transparent paint and not wiped off which results in a darker finish.

I'll still have to french polish it before I top coat it but it seems to be looking good.

Thanks for all your help. Comments are always appreciated.

Thanks