Black Stain

Rob Keeble

Member
Messages
12,633
Location
GTA Ontario Canada
Hi All
I need some help on behalf of a friend. During the summer I helped a friend build a Hi Fi stand that he designed. Upfront I told him I would help him all the way to the finishing point but that is where he had to take over since this finishing thing is not my strong point. Well we cut, glued and assembled the unit (oops no pictures) all made from maple veneered plywood. He recently set about finishing it. His desire is to make it black. I advised him to avoid blotching to first cover it with some sort of shellac. He found a wood conditioner at the local HD. He has applied that and then set about staining the unit with a black stain. He has put several coats of stain on and its not getting any blacker if one understands what I mean. He would like it so black its like ink. Had originally recommended to him to use India Ink but he chose stain. Before he goes and ruins the stand is there any advice i could get on how he could make this stain go darker. The stain he is using is miniwax and solvent type. I thought perhaps a gel stain would get darker. He has already applied 3 layers and is not happy with how dark it is.:(

Thanks in advance for any tips.
 
rob from the sounds he has already saturated the wood with the stain and conditioner but you can try to use some dye and that may still enter the wood fiber and darken what he know has,, if you have a woodcraft store near you or a leevalley either of the two canhelp you. in the dye gettin
 
Hi All
I need some help on behalf of a friend. During the summer I helped a friend build a Hi Fi stand that he designed. Upfront I told him I would help him all the way to the finishing point but that is where he had to take over since this finishing thing is not my strong point. Well we cut, glued and assembled the unit (oops no pictures) all made from maple veneered plywood. He recently set about finishing it. His desire is to make it black. I advised him to avoid blotching to first cover it with some sort of shellac. He found a wood conditioner at the local HD. He has applied that and then set about staining the unit with a black stain. He has put several coats of stain on and its not getting any blacker if one understands what I mean. He would like it so black its like ink. Had originally recommended to him to use India Ink but he chose stain. Before he goes and ruins the stand is there any advice i could get on how he could make this stain go darker. The stain he is using is miniwax and solvent type. I thought perhaps a gel stain would get darker. He has already applied 3 layers and is not happy with how dark it is.:(

Thanks in advance for any tips.

Rob
if it was me and i wanted it that black i would go with black lacquer. i built a entertainment center a coumple years ago for a lady.She wanted it black so i asked a friend of mine and he recommented the black lacquer.It was to black for me, but she loved it. Just a thought get a rattle can of the black lacquer and try it on a piece of scrap and see what he thinks.
Steve
 
i`ll second the black lacquer......if you have spray equipment you can always cut the black 50-50 with clear and then thin it to achieve an opaque black and successive coats will be darker. the beauty of going this way is if you go to far sanding will take you back.
 
I'll be the odd man out.

I'd suggest black lacquer.

(I didn't say I'd disagree, I just said I was odd.) :D

The lacquer seems like the shortest distance between Point A and Point B.

The times I've wanted to ebonize maple, I soaked it (unsealed) in India ink. Shame you couldn't convince your friend to use ink instead of stain. It also seems to my uneducated mind that sealing it, while possibly preventing blotchiness, would almost guarantee little or no penetration of the stain.

Another trick I've used on some shelves was waterbased poly (Minwax PolyCrylic) with India ink mixed in it. I spayed it on unsealed and unsanded Ikea shelves with a cheap HVLP sprayer and it came out nice and black, but translucent enough to see the grain. I use these shelves in my show booth setup, so they take a bit of a beating getting set up and torn down, and packed with stuff on top of them. The PolyCrylic has held up real well.
 
i think black lacquer is the best option here.

if that is not an option for him for whatever reason. what i have done recently to get some items for my home really dark and even colored was to apply a first coat of stain normally (seems he has done a few already) then come back after it is dry and brush on the stain pretty thick and don't wipe it off. it took a couple of days to fully dry, but it worked.

but as i said, i think black lacquer is the best option. i really like the look of that stuff.
 
Thank you all, I have advised my friend to go with the black lacquer. He will try it on a scrap piece first and see the result.
Thanks for the advice, I have learnt something in the process for the future.
 
dumbest one!!!

how do they get lacquer black? never seen the stuff :dunno:have seen white though..sorry for suggesting dye i was all wet and very unversed in the staining or coloring of wood..i stand corrected and chastized:)
 
how do they get lacquer black? never seen the stuff :dunno:have seen white though..sorry for suggesting dye i was all wet and very unversed in the staining or coloring of wood..i stand corrected and chastized:)

:huh::dunno: Mabe they jest leave it in tha Cookin' Pot too long, Larry.:rofl::rofl::rofl: It's ben round a looong time tho, cuz I used it in 1959 as tha base to put a "silver fox" finish on a chest o drawrs I bilt.:D
 
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