Need help stripping and staining pine

[Scott]

I would like to strip and stain the pine trim in our house. The wood is about 80 years old, some sort of clear pine. The design is sometimes referred to as Craftsman or Mission style.

Nearly all of the surfaces are vertical.

I've been using Bix Tough Job semi paste stripper. The results have been a little blotchy.

I was thinking of using Peel Away 1. I'm under the impression that it will not darken soft woods.

Since the stripping has going blotchy, I was thinking of using Polyshades, the polyurethane with pigment in it, to minimize the blotches.

Any other tips for getting a decent brown look out of this?

Scott

[Frank Ketchum]

I've had bad experiences staining pine. Pine tends to blotch when you stain it with pigment stains. It is not as bad if you apply a sealer to the wood first (sold as a pre-stain conditioner), but then the wood will not absorb as much stain and will not be as dark. An alternative is to use a dye instead of a stain, these don't tend to blotch as badly as the pigment stains.

Frank

[mp]

I'll second that. Dyed pine can look gorgeous.