Best way to stain pine?

[Dengue]

Hello, I have read much about the blotchiness of stained pine. I wish to do a dark brown stain uniformly on a 185mm wide board of pine which forms an extension to a desk top.

What are the experiences of fellow Forumites on the best stain and method of doing this?

[jack620]

It can look awful if the stain is just applied to the bare pine. Are you trying to match the colour of the original desk?
If so, I would be applying a suitable sealer (I use super blonde shellac) then building up the colour by spraying it mixed with a reducer. I’ve used Feast Watson dye stains mixed with the FW reducer. Or you can mix the stain with your finish and build up the colour that way.

[Dengue]

Thanks jack620. After applying a couple of coats of shellac, do you sand it back befoRe applying the stain? I have the spirit based Prooftint stain in mind

[jack620]

Yes, shellac will raise the grain a little, so I cut it back with 400 grit. I use a 1 pound cut for sealing (12g flakes per 100mL of metho).

[q9]

I watched a video years ago where I polisher described his technique for staining pine. He used an oil based stain. First he wiped the surface down with turps, maybe twice, just to ensure the wood was a bit damp and any dry resin dissolved, and receptive to the stain. Then he wiped over with dry rag, then applied the stain and wiped off excess pretty quickly. Or something pretty similar to that process. I seem to remember trying it and having good results...but it was a while ago.

[havabeer69]

My stained pine always looked blotchy and crap till i realised you needed to use a sanding sealer ( or similar like shellac). After that it was fine.

Feast Watson 250ml Sanding Sealer | Bunnings Warehouse