Gel Stain ?

Bob Gibson

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11,473
Location
Merrimack, New Hampshire
I recently bought General Finish urethane gel stain.
I want to darken the maple on the pie safe I'm making for my daughter to more closely match the kitchen table she has.
I've put 4 coats on a test board assuming that it would darken a bit with each coat but it stays pretty much the same shade as the first coat. I'm thinking that I shouldn't of sanded to 220:dunno: Maybe the wood is too smooth and not absorbing the stain:dunno:

I've tossed around the idea of using dye but having never used it before I'm afraid that I'll totally mess up the piece. My experiments usually have a bad habit of giving me one of those "doh" moments :doh:

I was also thinking that after 3 coats of the gel stain a final coat of shellac might help darken it.:dunno:

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
 
Gel stain is really more like paint than stain. It pretty much just lays there on the surface. The basic idea is to put it on heavier (darker) than you need, then wipe some of it off until you get to the color you want.

I generally let mine (I usually use the Old Masters brand) dry overnight, then spray on some SealCoat®. If you want yours darker, you might try garnet shellac instead.
 
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