Widgeonus

I am having my oak cabinets refinished and was told that it was a bad idea to stain them with any type of "red" colored stain (cherry, mahogany, etc.) due to the wood grain turning black. Any truth to this or has anyone done so and have pictures of the results?

The woodsman

I have stained quite a bit of oak in the past on jewelry boxes that I make just to give it a red highlite and have never had any of it turn black.I would stain them then sand most of it off where it would give the oak a redish color(kinda hard to explain the color)but they came out beautifull.But then I put clear poly on them when done.
Ken

cabinetman

I don't agree with what you "heard". I mix a lot of my own stains, and this one is light "red Mahogany". Doing samples is your best bet on getting the color you want. Allow the stain to dry and apply the final finish over the stain whatever that is, and allow that to dry, as that will also change the stain color.
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Widgeonus

The cabinets are being stripped with chemicals to get the "honey" glossy color off of them. Then my cabinet guy is going to restain them. He said that any "red" color stain will make the grains in the oak look black. Here is a picture of what the door looks like after he restained one of my doors. I would like more of a red tint instead of the brown. The door looks great just not the tint I was expecting.

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