Ping Leon

[Sonny]

If I recall, you've used Old Masters gel stain. Have you used their wipin g stain? If so, have you ever thinned it?

General instructions doesn't say not to thin, however, instructions for bl ending Santa Fe pastel colors says not to thin. I'm supposing the NOT TO THIN applies only to Santa Fe pastels. Last paragraph of the directions (l ink).

Ingredients says it's 30% - 60% linseed oil and 10% - 30% mineral spirits.. . other ingredients. I've always thought turpentine was used for linseed oil solvent/thinning, not mineral spirits.

Restoring some slat back dining chair using Old Masters Provincial wiping s tain. Nice warm color. Also caned an old rocker with flat reed. I thinn ed the Provincial stain using turpentine to stain the reed, to match the wo od of the old rocker. Rocker was painted green and paint is worn off all over, so wood is exposed.

This is the first time I've used an Old Masters product. Pleased with the results. Got a good color match of reed and wood. In you opinion, am I s afe having thinned the stain as I did? I'm thinking so. Can't think of w hy things shouldn't be fine.

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Sonny

[Leon]

Yes, actually mostly the gel varnish. No, No.

Still assuming you are not talking about thinning the gel stains. Is the stain not pretty thin to begin with.

At any rate they advise not to thin. I'm guessing this is because it may wash out the desired color too much and or really slow down the drying process.

Thinner is basically mineral spirits but with an additive to slow evaporation.

I have never had an issue with a stain going bad after being applied. IMHO if you are pleased with the result nothing will change.

Thinning is only going to slow down the drying time and maybe go on a tad lighter.

Good job!

[Sonny]

I probably wasn't clear as to what I wanted to achieve. The Provincial stain is thin enough. I needed a lighter shade and didn't want to go buy some other tint/shade. The application on the slat back chairs showed the Provincial was too dark for the rocker reed application.

The rocker was given to this elderly lady by her grandmother. I suppose originally it was bare wood, then someone painted it green. From long term use the paint wore off on lots of areas, exposing the wood, which may have darkened a bit over time. The newly applied flat reed is more white than the rocker wood, so I wanted to apply a touch of darkness to the reed to match the exposed rocker wood.

I was leery about over thinning and it still be effective adhesion-wise. Color-wise I got a good match to the aged wood color.

Delivered the rocker yesterday and the lady was very pleased.

Thanks... and for the feedback.

Sonny

[Leon]

Whew! I'm glad all that worked out well for you. I hate using stains for multiple reasons.

1. It is an extra step that very seldom comes out as the manufacturer samples illustrate.
2. Stains tend to muddy up the wood appearance.

FWIW when a customer wants a dark stain color I suggest going with a dark wood instead. Normally when I suggest that staining a lighter wood rather than building with the correct colored wood involves more labor, the expensive part of the project. I generally do not reduce the price if they want to go a less expensive wood and have me stain it darker.

I'm currently working on converting a built in cabinet/book shelf unit into an entertainment center, all painted white. They have seen my entertainment center and wanted me to do my best to closely match the build and wood.

I gave them 2 quotes, one for white oak and one for walnut. There was a significant difference in price for materials. Then they asked if I could stain the oak darker. I said sure but it will be the same price as the walnut.

[Sonny]

Yep, agree with all you've said. The flat reed is not your typical wood, though. Also, the shiny side of the "bamboo" is cut off, leaving just the interior "wood" of the reed. I've tinted cane before, but was leery about experimenting with the stain. I had plenty of reed strips to test, though. Here's the original chair, maybe a better view for you to see bare wood areas, than other pics.