Stain,oil,varnish disaster

[garry parker]

I tried some black stain on a test piece and finished it with danish oil and it looked quite nice.

When I stained my pine box it didn't look too nice, but I thought the danish oil would smarten it up a bit, but it didn't.

I then thought it would be a really good idea to add some mahogany tinted varnish as that would be bound to make it look better. It looked even worse, and I had to rescue a couple of insects who seemed to like wet varnish.

I've stripped the varnish off with some stripper, but is there any way I can get rid of the stain with danish oil on it? I'd like to get the natural wood colour back so that I can refinish it just with danish oil alone.

Thanks a lot.

Garry

[fsteddie]

nope garry your screwed

seriously you could sand it off or paint the box oil based flat black ,then apply a couple coats of satin varnish when black is dry

[garry parker]

Thanks for the reply. I'll try sanding it at the weekend and see how that goes first.

Garry

[Bay Area Dave]

what about bleaching out the color, Garry, if sanding requires too much material removal?

dave

[RonB]

Garry: If you get the color back to where you want it, be sure to use a pre-stain conditioner before you attempt to re-stain. Pine is soft and porus, a condition that varies across a piece of wood. This is what causes an uneven or blotchy color when stained. There are several conditioners (MinWax makes one) that help even out the surface absorbency. I haven't used it on pine but it works well on birch.

[garry parker]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I've sanded it out now, unfortunately there are a few bumpy areas, but I've managed to rescue the box at any rate. I called it a box, but it's actually a small cabinet for a home brew guitar amp. I'll be finishing it with Danish oil as I really liked the look of the back plate which I've already done with it.

I wish that I'd discovered Danish oil sooner. I had a nightmare trying to varnish the other cab that I made. I've been doing that one on and off since February, and it still isn't quite good enough. I can't believe how nice Danish oil looks considering how easy it is to use.

Thanks again.

Garry