heppnerguy Posted January 23, 2018 Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 Sorry to be such a pain in the rear to everyone but I am getting ready to stain a BB PLy backer for my Lord's prayer plaque and I do not want to screw it up. I remember seeing that BB Birch will often become blotchy when stained but that there is something that one can pre-coat the surface with that will prevent it from becoming blotchy. Can someone please tell me the Item I need to purchase so that the stain will take evenly??????? Dick heppnerguy OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTTHECLOCKMAN Posted January 23, 2018 Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 (edited) Oh here is that pain in the neck guy again. ( you noticed I went a little higher on the anatomy) prestain wood conditioner. Now depending how high grit you sand will also effect staining. The more you close the pores of the grain will allow less stain to be absorbed. Also gel stains are more controllable than oil or alcohol stains. http://www.minwax.com/wood-products/preparation/minwax-prestain-wood-conditioner Are you looking to see wood grain or a solid background?? The reason I ask is why not just paint the background. Edited January 23, 2018 by JTTHECLOCKMAN crupiea, OCtoolguy, SCROLLSAW703 and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WayneMahler Posted January 23, 2018 Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 Dick A pre-stain wood conditioner will do the trick. I use MinWax and it is water based. I use a spray bottle to dampen the surface and let it dry. Very lightly sand it, clean it then apply the conditioner. This way when I sand prior to applying the conditioner I don't have to worry about taking too much off. As for the grit 220 works great for me. Just be gentle and you will remove all the raised fibers and not what was pre treated with the water misting spray. heppnerguy, OCtoolguy and NC Scroller 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heppnerguy Posted January 23, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 Thank you both for the quick response.. It has helped me a lot. I will go purchase some this morning Dick heppnerguy WayneMahler and OCtoolguy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomsteve Posted January 23, 2018 Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 (edited) dick, if youre using an oil based stain, simply spray the surface with mineral spirits, let it sit a bit,wipe off the excess, and stain right after. works great on poplar,pine, and maple,too. most brands of wood conditioners are a thinned down varnish or poly- thinned with mineral spirits. typically 1 part varnish to 2 parts MS. Edited January 23, 2018 by tomsteve heppnerguy, amazingkevin and OCtoolguy 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCtoolguy Posted January 23, 2018 Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 What is sanding sealer all about? Will that work for what you are asking? Ray Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Posted January 23, 2018 Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 2 hours ago, octoolguy said: What is sanding sealer all about? Will that work for what you are asking? Ray A sanding sealer is not the same as a wood conditioner. Whereas a wood conditioner is a pre-stain treatment that reduces blotchiness when staining, a sanding sealer is applied only to bare wood that is not going to be stained. That is per the makers of Minwax. OCtoolguy and WayneMahler 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCtoolguy Posted January 24, 2018 Report Share Posted January 24, 2018 2 hours ago, Dan said: A sanding sealer is not the same as a wood conditioner. Whereas a wood conditioner is a pre-stain treatment that reduces blotchiness when staining, a sanding sealer is applied only to bare wood that is not going to be stained. That is per the makers of Minwax. So I take it that sanding sealer would be more for wood that is going to be painted? Ray Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTTHECLOCKMAN Posted January 24, 2018 Report Share Posted January 24, 2018 2 hours ago, octoolguy said: So I take it that sanding sealer would be more for wood that is going to be painted? Ray Ray, sanding sealer is basically used on porous woods. Woods that would take many extra coats of finish to achieve a nice finish. This blocks up those pores and you can lay your finish on in less coats which could mean less money and time. But there are warnings that go with this too. Not good to flood the woods with many coats of sanding sealer thinking you now need less finish coats. If you use a hard finish such as lacquers or waterbased poly then a problem could occur underneath creating cracks. I alway like to use Zinnser Bulleye seal coat that is the dewaxed sealer. This allows the use of any finish material to be used. When using products it is not a good idea to mix oils with water products. Stay in the field you start with and less problems. The dewax allows crossovers. Wood that is going to be painted does not need sanding sealer because the pigments and solids in the paint will block the pores. May take an extra coat to get a nice finish but again no mixing products. Have to state this is my opinion. May have to start using this disclaimer more often. tomsteve, OCtoolguy, stoney and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCtoolguy Posted January 24, 2018 Report Share Posted January 24, 2018 15 hours ago, JTTHECLOCKMAN said: Ray, sanding sealer is basically used on porous woods. Woods that would take many extra coats of finish to achieve a nice finish. This blocks up those pores and you can lay your finish on in less coats which could mean less money and time. But there are warnings that go with this too. Not good to flood the woods with many coats of sanding sealer thinking you now need less finish coats. If you use a hard finish such as lacquers or waterbased poly then a problem could occur underneath creating cracks. I alway like to use Zinnser Bulleye seal coat that is the dewaxed sealer. This allows the use of any finish material to be used. When using products it is not a good idea to mix oils with water products. Stay in the field you start with and less problems. The dewax allows crossovers. Wood that is going to be painted does not need sanding sealer because the pigments and solids in the paint will block the pores. May take an extra coat to get a nice finish but again no mixing products. Have to state this is my opinion. May have to start using this disclaimer more often. The finishing process has always been my downfall. I used to leave that up to my wife but she is no longer interested in doing that. I don't blame her actually. I hate the sanding and finishing. Mostly because of my ignorance. Ray Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTTHECLOCKMAN Posted January 25, 2018 Report Share Posted January 25, 2018 5 hours ago, octoolguy said: The finishing process has always been my downfall. I used to leave that up to my wife but she is no longer interested in doing that. I don't blame her actually. I hate the sanding and finishing. Mostly because of my ignorance. Ray Well Ray many times a good finish on a piece can make or break it for appearances. I see many pen turners turning out hundreds of pens and selling for peanuts but the fit and finish is not up to par and some people just do not know what quality is unless it was side by side. So that is why alot of times I look at etsy and ebay and people selling their products, it is hard to tell how well the finished product looks. Been doing this for some time so my tastes and perceptions are sometimes jaded. Good luck to you. OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amazingkevin Posted January 25, 2018 Report Share Posted January 25, 2018 On 1/23/2018 at 12:35 PM, heppnerguy said: Thank you both for the quick response.. It has helped me a lot. I will go purchase some this morning Dick heppnerguy It will be a treat to see !!!!!!!! OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucky2 Posted January 31, 2018 Report Share Posted January 31, 2018 Dick, the product I use to get an even stain job that is not blotchy, is called Min-Wax prestain. It's very similar, to applying a coating of thinned varnish to the wood. If I were you, I would do a test on a piece of scrap wood, to make sure the stain applies the way you want it to. I would hate for you to ruin such a project, by not doing a test piece first. Len OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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