First time using red oak, how do i stain?

Zach Meissner

Member
Messages
8
Location
Husker Nation aka Nebraska
I've done my first engraving with red oak (any hardwood actually), and i'm not sure how to stain/finish the project.

Here is the piece:

IMG_2323_edit.jpg


I'd like to make the grain and color pop and bring out their richness. I figure i'll do a top coat poly or shellac to give it a satin sheen. Just not sure on how to stain it with the nooks and crannies of the inset text.
 
You may have better (more uniform) results spraying it with a dye. It will be tough to apply and wipe stain from the engraving. Nice, by the way. With a dye, you would just spray it and wait. There is a downside to that...waterbased dye will likely raise the grain (make it fuzzy), and sanding the fuzz off in the engraving will be as tough as wiping out the stain. But if you used an alcohol based dye (Transtint) it wouldn't raise the grain. If you've never used dyes it would pay to practice on scrap first.
 
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