Finish and stain?

[Mr Brush]

I have some pieces made a while ago in Tassie Oak, stripped back, sanded,and cleaned ready for refinishing. Since I have no spraying facilities, my favourite finishes at the moment are either Feast Watson Scandinavian Oil or Minwax Wipe-On Poly (Satin). Wipe-on stuff would be best in any case, since some of the inner surfaces of these pieces would be hard to get at with a brush or spray.

Now, in looking for a way to achieve a change of timber colour with either of these finishes, in a simple and easy wipe-on sort of way , what would happen if I mixed a stain such as Feast Watson Prooftint in with my Scandinavian Oil or even Minwax Wipe-On??? Will this mixture explode in a ball of flame, or will I be pleasantly surprised at the outcome?? Alternatively, is the idea sound, but should I be using a different type of stain?

Of course, I'd be careful to record the mix ratio of finish to stain so that the colour can be repeated if required (writes reminder on forehead so I'll see it when I brush my teeth in the morning.....)

Has anyone else tried an 'all in one' wipe-on combo stain/finish like this?

Any advice much appreciated - the pieces are quite large, so if it is going to go bung it might be good to know before I start......

[artme]

why don't you suck it and see?

[ravlord13]

Try on some scrap and let us know how it goes,
If it doesn't explode that is.
Cheers

[Mr Brush]

I was just curious to see if the idea was really, really silly......seems too good to be true.

Also, I expected the finishing connosewers (sic) to leap up with cries of "You can't do that !! Stain must always be done separately", "The grain will develop a vertical pole" or somesuch.

Lastly, the result might look OK to my untrained eyes (the right shade of brown, and vaguely shiny), only to find that the stain reacts with the finish in some way I wasn't aware of, and the whole lot rubs off again the first time the temperature goes over 20 degrees....

I seem to remember one of our septic mates posting somewhere on this forum that Minwax in the US make some tints which can be added to their Wipe-On Poly, but I have no idea what type of stains these are (water/spirit/universal).

[Marginata]

Hi Mr Brush,

I have used Bondall polyurethane varnishes for years and have recently used a couple of their pre stained poly varnishes on different timbers including tas oak. I've been really pleased with the results. They have even been selling the cans with a bonus sponge applicator recently, which worked a treat. They do darken with each coat so if you don't want it too dark you can blend with a clear poly to dilute, or finish with clear coats over the top.
If you don't have Bondall products in your area I would be happy to arrange sending you some

[Mr Brush]

Marginata - sorry, I wasn't expecting any more replies to my post, but checked today and found your comments re. Bondall. A quick google found 'Bondall Stain & Varnish - Satin'; is this the product you are referring to???

You seem to imply that the product can be wiped on (sponge supplied?), which is really what I am looking for. I use Wipe-On Poly a fair bit, but haven't come up with a reliable way of adding colour to it to give a uniform finish. If the Bondall stuff is a bit gluggy out of the can (i.e. designed to be brushed on), I assume it could be thinned down a bit to make it a wipe-on product.

My tentative experiments with Feast Watson stuff didn't work very well at all. Their technical help man confirmed that Prooftint should be compatible with their Scandinavian Oil (but not the Danish Oil for some reason??), but the two don't seem to mix together very well.

Thanks again for the altrernative suggestion !!

[MacS]

Normally, you should be able to use "oil colorants" in both the oil and in the poly.

You could use white spirits as the solvent if it is needed..

Its very important to make up a start to finsh sample, getting the right color first, will make the job easier.

[echnidna]

whats wrong with the orthodox method of applying a normal oil stain first then applying finish over the top

[old_picker]

its called a shader coat
first seal the maple well with sanding sealer maybe 3 coats sanding between coats with 400 grit
tassie oak will need grainfill to get a mirror finish - grainfill after ythe wood is sealed

mix some stain into the varnish [minwax wipeon] - i use feast and watson prooftint which should be mixed and left to stand 24 hours then passed through a 150 mesh sieve to get the lumpy bits out. test your mix on scrap preferably a decent size piece of tas oak and get a feel for the process and the amount of coats needed

now rub a shader coat on
see how it looks -
rub in another coat and another until you got the colour depth you want
rub it on nice and even with a very very light sand with 600 or 800 between coats

you gotta be carefull to get it on even or it will be darker where it builds up - runs with shader coats is a disaster - the thinner the coats the better - more thin coats is way better than few thick coats

when your colour is good go over with a couple more thin clear coats

if you want to level and buff it out put 4-5 clear coats maybe more cos when you start leveling you dont want to go through the clear and start knocking down the shaders as it will look uneven and if not carefull [gasp] you might go to bare wood which will be tricky to fix

good luck and post some pix of the project