I just installed a set of Atrium brand french doors off the back of my house. The interior is wood, which i had planned to stain to match the existing woodwork. Rather than a pre-conditioner to get an even stain without blotches, my local woodworking shop recommended using a blend of denatured alchohol and shellac. i put it on, followed by a coat of my water based stain. next i put on a coat of polyacrylic top coat – water based also. as i put it on, however, the stain went from nice and even color to blotchy, streaky and unattractive. it almost seemed as if i was taking the stain off with the brush.
1. Could it just be a question of I didn’t wait long enough between the coat of stain and the polyacrylic top coat? (seems like it was about an hour, but i didn’t keep real close track- its a pretty hot day though, so it should have dried fast).
2. Would I be better off with a pre-conditioner?
3. Is the problem more likely related to the quality of the wood? (the doors definitely were not the most expensive we could have found).
Replies
Staining is a black art -- always do a trial piece first.
But it sounds like you didn't wait long enough between coats, and it may be that you had the stain layed on too thick.
followed by a coat of my water based stain.
Your problem is the finish is water based as was the stain. You were removing the stain.
As with 99% of all stain work, a sample could work out these issues prior to the actual work.
Sealing the waterbased stain with a thin coat of sanding sealer or even shelac would have prevented the blotching, as would using an oil-based top coat.
Was it a fade resistant stain? Many of the water based dyes and some stains are not fade resistant when exposed to uv light as would be common around windows and doors.
The shelac as a wood conditioner isn't a bad idea, although the results probably aren't much different from the commercial wood conditioner designed for water based stains. Thinning and dry time of the wood conditioner effects the results and sometimes the best combination is obtained with either a short dry time and full strength conditioner, or a longer dry time and thinned conditioner. Shelac is typically thinned with alcohol.
You were so very close to a good result. The simplest fix if you're in the same boat sometime would be a light coat of shelac from a rattle can between the stain and top coat.
Are you going to strip it and refinish?
Best of luck,
i have used this combination of water based stain and polyacrylic top coat with great success in the past - this is the first time i have ever had this problem. do you still think i need to put a coat of sealer on after the stain, or would you just say that its a question of inadequate drying time.
yes, i am stripping it all off and starting over. if its worth doing, its worth doing right!
thanks for the pointer!
Get yourself a product called Seal Coat (mfg. by Zinsser) -- which is simply a dewaxed shellac. I don't know about HD, but any paint store will carry it. Use it to seal the bare wood, apply your waterbased stain, brush on another coat of Seal Coat, and then apply however many coats of water-based poly you want -- two is probably barely adequate, but three would be better. Be sure to use a poly that is rated for exterior use.********************************************************
"It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."
John Wooden 1910-
i have used this combination of water based stain and polyacrylic top coat with great success in the past
If you're comfortable simply allowing more dry time that might be all you need, but it seems like a reasonable extra step to spray a little shelac unless there is a binder of some sort in the stain that keeps it from rehydrating. One hour dry time might have left the surface dry but not dry enough to anchor a binder in the stain. At least two finishing books have suggested a layer of shelac as the easiest way to prevent exactly what happened to you.
At least with the simple waterbase dyes, I'd be shaking scared if not for the shelac since they rehydrate rather easily.