Need stain suggestion - Woodworking Talk

thekctermite · 04-10-2008, 05:50 PM

I've done a lot of woodworking, but when it comes to finishing, I'm a rookie.

I'm building new cabinets for my bathroom lavatory sinks. They're what I would call shaker style doors...T&G stile and rail joinery with flat panel doors. I'm making them from riftsawn red oak (trying to avoid the flat grain) and riftsawn red oak plywood for the door panels.

I'd like to avoid what I usually do, which is Minwax stain and polyurethane. I'd much rather go with a rubbed-oil look in a dark honey color. I tried tung oil on a scap but it doesn't add enough color.

Can you all recommend a product or procedure that will not look all glossy, preferably an oil-stain of some sort???

cabinetman · 04-10-2008, 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thekctermite

I've done a lot of woodworking, but when it comes to finishing, I'm a rookie.

I'm building new cabinets for my bathroom lavatory sinks. They're what I would call shaker style doors...T&G stile and rail joinery with flat panel doors. I'm making them from riftsawn red oak (trying to avoid the flat grain) and riftsawn red oak plywood for the door panels.

I'd like to avoid what I usually do, which is Minwax stain and polyurethane. I'd much rather go with a rubbed-oil look in a dark honey color. I tried tung oil on a scap but it doesn't add enough color.

Can you all recommend a product or procedure that will not look all glossy, preferably an oil-stain of some sort???

You said you tried Tung oil. Did you use a stain first? You can add an oil base stain to Tung oil. As for a final finish, not all oil base polyurethanes or oil base varnishes are gloss. You can use a satin finish.

If you use a stain and BLO (boiled linseed oil), the BLO will add an amber tint, while Tung oil won't.

Instead of using an oil base stain, you could try aniline dye powders mixed in alcohol (methanol). That mixture carries more color than water based dyes, without raising the grain. You can mix with varying degrees of strength.

Another method would utilize a stain, then an oil of your choice, and then one of many waxes that are available. What is recommended is to allow each application of whatever you add, allow to dry to see the final finish. This should be done on samples and it's wise to keep a log of what you used and the quantities and/or ratios.

thekctermite · 04-13-2008, 12:10 AM

Thank you for the suggestions!

Didn't know you could add oil stain to tung oil. Going to give that a try on some samples.

toddj99 · 04-13-2008, 11:15 AM

like cabinetman stated, you can use a dye. i used transtint on an oak project just a few weeks ago. i then rubbed in 2 coats of a mix of blo-min. spirits-general finishes urethane mixed equal parts each. then put on three to five coats of straight urethane (depending on the protection needed for each surface). transtint has various colors and you can mix and match them as needed. here's a link to the project, it's the bedroom tv stand:
http://s261.photobucket.com/albums/ii60/toddj99/

edit: i just updated the link, click my username toddj99 to see all the pictures of the item