staining maple dark

[edswoods.1]

I'm working on some wood trim for a 1930's car, Up to now, I've only had to duplicate the original on a job like this, but I'm involved with the styling work on this one. The project is a Stutz open touring car and the paint is a creamy yellow. The owner wants something distinctive but tasteful for the dashboard and door trim. I like the idea of tiger maple and want to use a stain with yellow in it, such as golden oak, but much darker. The problem is that hard maple accepts this kind of stain much as a piece of stainless steel would, there's not much penetration. I was thinking of tinting the polyurethane and seeing if each coat would make the sample darker, but it would be much better to find a different kind of stain that had better penetration.

[Guess who]

You might try on a sample or two first, but I've used ordinary artist's paint for stain . A small squirt from a tube into a glass jar. Add pure turpentine. Shake, or stir. Apply with a cloth, and either wipe or leave for a while then wipe. Advantage ...ANY colour /depth you want, [even mix colours], then varnish [or whatever] over the top. The solvent need not be turpentine; that's just what I use.

DO experiment first!

[Frank Ketchum]

Investigate using a glaze, which does not penetrate the wood. Rather it sits between a sealcoat and the finish coat.

[cselby]

Alcohol stain (also water based) penetrates very well. If you use it, work fast in long strokes - one end to the other - to avoid lap marks or spray it on. Denatured alcohol is a good rubbing fluid to smooth out any sloppiness in the application (you will be sloppy).

Pete

[edswoods.1]

Good suggestions. I'm thinking I might also try using universal tint in the resin side of West System epoxy for the finish. You mix the tint with the resin then add the hardener. I know this works with paste epoxy because I've tried it.

[stoutman]

You need a water based stain. I use TransTint (from Woodcraft). Hard maple will soak it up like a sponge. You can go as dark as you want depending on the color of stain selected and the concentration of the stain in alcohol or water.

[edswoods.1]

I drove out to Woodcraft, but they were largely out of stock. At 15 bucks+ per bottle, I think I'll try to get my customer to narrow down on the sample choices before I buy, but it looks like a good way to go. Now all I have to do is find the right piece of tiger maple. My mill shop buddies order in the rough from a big warehouse where they put special pieces to one side; he'll call over there and they'll let me pick from what they've got, if they have anything.

[stoutman]

A little bit goes a long way, trust me. I usually put isopropyl alcohol into a jar for the amount of stain i think I will use, then I add the TransTint dye stain drop by drop until I reach the color I want (using scrap wood of course). For me (my projects are generally on the small side) a few drops go a very long way.

good luck.