So many stains

[Dennis Key]

there are so many stain colors, and types I was going to swing by lowes and pick some up and  ...wow ..I was overwhelmed  plain stain, poly stain 10 different oak stains .... What do you use  or recommend? and do you use sealers or oils  just looking for opinions

 

[bandaideman]

I generally will use 50/50 BLO and Mineral spirits on hard woods then use poly on that after giving 2-3 days to dry. I will use a sealer on soft like pine or poplar before sanding then stain of choice or paint. I think the choice of stain is up to the user as to color to meet what ever th project is.

[MrsN]

I don't like the stain and poly blends. when it tries to be both they don't do either all that well. As an over all statement, I don't really like gel stain either. (It has some awesome applications, but staining scroll work isn't one of them in my mind.)

MinWax in "early american" or "golden oak" is my most used stain. It gives a nice brown wood color to almost everything. I think that some of the darker stains look fake and funky on many woods (especially baltic birch ply which is most of my projects) There are several stains that give a funky red/orange color that looks un-natural. 

A lot of the time I just lacquer or poly a project and call it done, or oil then lacquer. It really depends on the project as to what type of finish I use. 

 

My most used top coat is RustOleum 2x clear. It really does seam to go twice as far, and is cheaper then some of the other options. it works over all sorts of stuff; oil, paint, glitter, stain. 

[sullyscroller]

I have used clear waterbased poly for years and love it. Gives a nice shine but lets the natural look come thru. Cleanup is a breeze.

 

sully

[LarryEA]

MrsN has good advise. I don't like stains for scroll work.

And like Sully stated, Just let the natural beauty show.

If you need to stain, use scrap for a test run.

 

Larry

 

[cwright]

Usually Tung oil

[Fish]

I agree with Sully, clear poly.

[amazingkevin]

What a messy subject! I found a short cut to the mess and covers everything in one shot if i stain.I have or make a tray with thick aluminum foil .I fold up the edges close to or touching the project that is flat. I. I then pour in the stain and cover everything with it. Then I slide the tray over the side of the bench, poke a hole in the bottom corner and let it drain back in the can it came from.Brushing it on takes away from my quality time .All that's left to do is wipe the top clean and set on newspaper to suck up the excess from inside cuts and the bottom of the project. Don't let it stay on the paper too long as it may stick to the project permanently.The results are better than spraying it on as the stain is uniform everywhere.

[heppnerguy]

interesting  variety of ideas here,  I hope to be able to find this at a later date when I need it all..I think I should buy myself a notebook and write the ideas I like in it, then I could find it when I wanted to.

 

I continually read new ideas here and I continually forget where I saw them..I can;t imagine what it will be like when I finally get old 

 

Dick

heppnerguy

[Clayton717]

I personally don't use stain, I like the natural shades/ colors of the wood to show.  It all depends on the person and how dark/ light you want to go.