Keith Thomas
Member
- Messages
- 73
- Location
- florida
I am going to make some samples for our hard maple vanity. I have not done any finishing for at least 10 years and I wasn't that great at the time. The first cabinets I ever made I stained but there were tons of tiny little grayish spots. I think I remember some one telling me it was the pores in the maple and I needed to lightly seal the wood and then sand it to have the pores sealed before I stained it. I sanded all the finish off the doors and drawers (luckily I had a drum sander at the time) and sealed it with something and hand sanded and then stained. It came out very even in color. The seal I put on was thinned to 50% put I don't remember what I used.
This time I have 3 choices. I have a stain I ordered from kraftmaid that is the same as the stain on out kitchen cabinets, which is mohawk stain ginger color (I think I got ripped off). And I have 2 different trans tint dyes ( honey amber and golden brown) so I can either dye the wood or tone the top coat or a combination of both. The toner seams the easiest.
first question: If I just dye the wood Do I need to seal and finish sand the maple to keep the pores from soaking up to much before I use a dye?
Second question: Does using a toner hide a lot of the grain? Its maple which doesn't have a lot of variation in grain as it is. Thats why I like maple but I want some grain to show. I used a toner on maple for a friend and I remember everyone liking it but it was a darker brown and there wasn't much wood grain to see but I can't remember if that was because it was a toner. it was so long ago.
third question: is using a stain easier than using a dye? I am afraid of dying the wood. Probably because I never have done it before.
forth question: Anything any of you can think of on these choices?
This time I have 3 choices. I have a stain I ordered from kraftmaid that is the same as the stain on out kitchen cabinets, which is mohawk stain ginger color (I think I got ripped off). And I have 2 different trans tint dyes ( honey amber and golden brown) so I can either dye the wood or tone the top coat or a combination of both. The toner seams the easiest.
first question: If I just dye the wood Do I need to seal and finish sand the maple to keep the pores from soaking up to much before I use a dye?
Second question: Does using a toner hide a lot of the grain? Its maple which doesn't have a lot of variation in grain as it is. Thats why I like maple but I want some grain to show. I used a toner on maple for a friend and I remember everyone liking it but it was a darker brown and there wasn't much wood grain to see but I can't remember if that was because it was a toner. it was so long ago.
third question: is using a stain easier than using a dye? I am afraid of dying the wood. Probably because I never have done it before.
forth question: Anything any of you can think of on these choices?
