Staining Oak recommendation. I gotta get this right.

[Geo]

I've just completed putting together my first fireplace hearth, mantle, the whole works. It's made of oak and it's now time to stain. I'm looking to keep the color relatively light and don't particularly want to grain to pop out, but rather keep a somewhat even consistency across the piece. Any recommendations would be much appreciated. I've invested a lot of time and effort in this and needless to say don't want to screw it up with a bad staining job. Thanks in advance.

[Bruce Rowen]

Get Fleckner's finishing book!

Basically with oak the various growth rates between rings allows for a high range of stain absorption. To eliminate this difference the wood needs to be sealed before staining.

You could seal with shellac then stain to the desired shade or use a dye in several post seal layers of shellac (or no dye at all and use some blonde or orange shellac).

Best bet is to try whatever on a piece of scrap to get the grain and color the way you want it.

In general it is three steps to get low grain contrast. 1-seal,

2-tint/dye/stain, 3-seal again (top coat)

Top coat with whatever you feel appropriate to protect the surfaces (varnish, poly, etc...)

[Gfretwell]

Your best bet is to gather up some of your scraps and trying a few stains you are considering. Finish them with whatever top coat you will use and look at the result in different lighting. I have some commercially made red oak furniture and it turned out cherry stain was a perfect match but that probably would not have been my first guess. I just picked up several of those little cans of different colors and tried them. The sample blocks at the store are a rough guide but YMMV with your wood.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

I like oak as it is, but you may want to change the "age" a bit. I've used Minwax Golden Oak with good results. It tones down or makes it mellow but does not hide the natural grain and color very much. You look at it and you still know it is oak.

I just brushed it on, wiped it, then gave a few coats of Norm-o-thane for the finish. Ed

[Swingman]

For a real light oak color, I like the "Golden Oak" stains also.

On red oak, I've had good luck with the Watco "Golden Oak" oil based finishes, topped with a Bartley's Gel Varnish .

For white oak, ZARS 114 Provincial is my current favorite for a slightly darker finish, but still light by most standards. Poly/oil (tung/blo/varnish) top coats darkens the 114 Provincial just slightly. With amber shellac top coats, it gets a more pronounced, 'aged' appearance.

John Paquay's got a good method for oil staining/finishing using Watco on his website ... give it a look. The part about wet sanding after about the third coat of Danish oil works very well with oak of any type.

[Dave A.]

Getting it right is a function of application technique, surface prep and product. I'd look into using a gel stain.. maybe one of those stain/poly blends...they tend to not soak into the wood too much and lay more on the surface. Try buying a few pints from different manufacturers...test out on scrap wood. Starting with a sanding sealer will help with getting an even coat. In the end it's a living product and you are not expected to produce a "factory" finish.

[Chris Merrill]

I second the Flexner recommendation. Everyone should have a copy.

If you don't want much contrast, you must fill the pores, prior to staining. Not just seal it. The large pores will grab the stain in some areas, and it will not penetrate at all in others. You must fill those pores to prevent the pigment in the stain from collecting there.

If you only want a slight color change (and haven't installed the unit, yet), you should consider harnessing the power of the sun...it works effectively, quickly, cheaply, and _most important_ - evenly:

luck!

************************************ Chris Merrill [e-mail] (remove the ZZZ to contact me) ************************************

[Igor]

railings.

[Jamie Jackson]

That's "Flexner," BTW. Both of his finishing books were at my library... probably yours, too.

Jamie

[Leon]

If you simply put a clear oil based varnish on it, it will go to a light golden color.

[Renata]

Are you trying to lighten the color? Does the wood vary in color across the board (personally don't recall this being a problem with oak). If not, I'll second Leon's recommendation of an oil based varnish - gives a warm glow to oak (much nicer than water based, BTW). Likewise, Swingman's suggestion from John Paquay's site of Danish oil

- with the added benefit of allowing you to change the color if needed by using one of the "colored" oils.

Hard to know exactly what you want, but it seems you may not need to stain at all (there's nore requirement to stain before putting on a final finish).

Renata

[Preston Andreas]

If you want an even consistency, use a water based dye like trans-tint. You don't get the large contrast in early and latewood colors with a dye. I especially use it with dark stains where the contrast is even more pronounced with a stain. Even a light stain such as golden oak shows quite a bit of contrast as compared to a dye.

you could seal the wood using a 1 pound cut of shellac and scuff sand with 320 grit before staining.

Preston

[Jack Kerouac]

I finished building a shaker style high boy dresser and I too spent alot of time building... I like the oak and wanted to keep it relatively light in color so I opted for the "Tried and True Varnish Oil." Built up great. Then built up a wax surface to protect. To see their propaganda goto:

for a video tip goto:

Luck, Jack.

[Igor]

BTW -- When I have used minwax stains, I have also used their "neutral" to make the stain lighter -- for example, I like the Provincial color but it was a little too dark.

[2manytoyz]

Another vote for Minwax Golden Oak stain. I've used it for years on projects. I apply Minwax satin Poly over the stain after it's dried. Finish a few pieces of scrap first. The wife has "approved" the Golden Oak stain for the kitchen cabinets I'll be building shortly.