I'm building a shelf unit. It's a box about five feet long, one foot
high, one foot deep, with couple of uprights separating it into three
sections. It's made out of oak plywood. I'll be adding a face frame of
oak 1 x 2. I'm no genius at woodworking, but I did a pretty good job
with it, so far. However, I've had less than inspiring results in the
past with the finishing part of a project.

I have 2 questions.

1. I had some furniture made that has a "Cordova" stain, a very dark
reddish, purplish brown. I haven't been able to replicate that color
with the stains I've been able to find. I think it's possible that I
need to leave the stain on longer to get a darker color, but I'm not
sure. The instructions suggested maybe 10 minutes. The color with the
excess stain sitting on the wood seems pretty good, but wiping off the
"excess" leaves a much milder color. I beilieve the stain is called
Minwax Red Mahogany. I don't expect to perfectly match the other
furniture, but I'd like a very dark color.

2. I did a few test pieces with various stains and finishes. With
different products, different woods and different brushes I've gotten
"bubbles". They form immediately as I brush the polyurethane on, and
seem to continue forming over the space of a few minutes. They are
pretty tiny, a 16th of an inch in diameter, but they ruin the finish.
Is this a known problem? Is it air, or something else escaping from
the wood? Is there some tratment I should use before the poly to avoid
the bubbles?

Thanks in advance.

Greg Guarino

Greg Guarino wrote:

I have 2 questions.

1. I had some furniture made that has a "Cordova" stain, a very dark
reddish, purplish brown. I haven't been able to replicate that color
with the stains I've been able to find. I think it's possible that I
need to leave the stain on longer to get a darker color, but I'm not
sure.

2. I did a few test pieces with various stains and finishes. With
different products, different woods and different brushes I've gotten
"bubbles".
Is this a known problem?

Finishing is a complex topic, with many books on the topic--much more
information than can reasonably be posted here.

If it's not too far, you may wish to head down to the local public
library's woodworking section. Barring that, a google search online
will give much information on the topic.

Chris

Search for "Cordovan" at www.homesteadfinishing.com and also visit
www.refinishwizard.com and look around.

"Greg Guarino" wrote in message
...
I have 2 questions.

1. I had some furniture made that has a "Cordova" stain, a very dark
reddish, purplish brown. I haven't been able to replicate that color
with the stains I've been able to find. I think it's possible that I
need to leave the stain on longer to get a darker color, but I'm not
sure. The instructions suggested maybe 10 minutes. The color with the
excess stain sitting on the wood seems pretty good, but wiping off the
"excess" leaves a much milder color. I beilieve the stain is called
Minwax Red Mahogany. I don't expect to perfectly match the other
furniture, but I'd like a very dark color.

2. I did a few test pieces with various stains and finishes. With
different products, different woods and different brushes I've gotten
"bubbles". They form immediately as I brush the polyurethane on, and
seem to continue forming over the space of a few minutes. They are
pretty tiny, a 16th of an inch in diameter, but they ruin the finish.
Is this a known problem? Is it air, or something else escaping from
the wood? Is there some tratment I should use before the poly to avoid
the bubbles?


Your stain looks darker before you wipe it off because it's a (sorry, it's
true) pigment stain. You have particles of colored pigment in the vehicle.
Suggests one possible "cure" if you can get the stuff to sample. A
stain/finish combination like Minwax, believe it's called "polyshades," will
allow you to leave the pigment on the surface. Or you could try on your own
to use a glaze of an appropriate pigment from a source like artists' oil
colors, followed by a careful coat of the poly.

Bubbles are a pain with oak. You trap air, you bridge pores, and after a
time the bubbles pop. Reduce the viscosity of your poly by thinner, or use
a thinner poly like "wipe-on" poly, so that the reduced cohesion will allow
it to slump into the pores rather than bridge and bust.

What ever you choose, experiment on the plywood scraps, sanded, please, to
the same grit as your piece. The real wood won't look the same, ever.

I have 2 questions.

1. I had some furniture made that has a "Cordova" stain, a very dark
reddish, purplish brown.

Alot of commercial finishes are heavily pigmented (opaque color, more like
paint than what you would normally think of as stain) Although this obscures
the wood, it lets the manufacturer produce a very evenly colored surface.

I haven't been able to replicate that color
with the stains I've been able to find.

That is smply not an easy thing to do. The good news is that you have you
have already learned rule #1..."experiment on scrap".

I think it's possible that I
need to leave the stain on longer to get a darker color, but I'm not
sure.

Generally not. more time will not make much difference. As you have
dicovered, not removing the excess will give you a darker result. A second
coat, if the stain is largely pigment based will help as well.


The instructions suggested maybe 10 minutes. The color with the
excess stain sitting on the wood seems pretty good, but wiping off the
"excess" leaves a much milder color. I beilieve the stain is called
Minwax Red Mahogany. I don't expect to perfectly match the other
furniture, but I'd like a very dark color.

2. I did a few test pieces with various stains and finishes. With
different products, different woods and different brushes I've gotten
"bubbles". They form immediately as I brush the polyurethane on, and
seem to continue forming over the space of a few minutes. They are
pretty tiny, a 16th of an inch in diameter, but they ruin the finish.
Is this a known problem? Is it air, or something else escaping from
the wood?


I don't know if this is the with you, but exactly that happened to me when
finishing some solid red oak with an oil-based varnish (very similar to
oil-based poly for the purposes of this discusstion). I made the mistake of
finishing the piece in a cold garage and them bringing it into the house to
warm up and cure. The air in the pores of the oak expanded and created tiny
bubbles.

Was there a drastic temperature change?

Was this oil or waterbased Poly? Water-based can tend to "foam up" is you
work it too much with a brush.

-Steve


--
NewsGuy.Com 30Gb $9.95 Carry Forward and On Demand Bandwidth

Greg Guarino wrote:
I'm building a shelf unit. It's a box about five feet long, one foot
high, one foot deep, with couple of uprights separating it into three
sections. It's made out of oak plywood. I'll be adding a face frame of
oak 1 x 2. I'm no genius at woodworking, but I did a pretty good job
with it, so far. However, I've had less than inspiring results in the
past with the finishing part of a project.

I have 2 questions.

1. I had some furniture made that has a "Cordova" stain, a very dark
reddish, purplish brown. I haven't been able to replicate that color
with the stains I've been able to find. I think it's possible that I
need to leave the stain on longer to get a darker color, but I'm not
sure. The instructions suggested maybe 10 minutes. The color with the
excess stain sitting on the wood seems pretty good, but wiping off the
"excess" leaves a much milder color. I beilieve the stain is called
Minwax Red Mahogany. I don't expect to perfectly match the other
furniture, but I'd like a very dark color.

Try adding some black or very dark blue to the stain
____________

2. I did a few test pieces with various stains and finishes. With
different products, different woods and different brushes I've gotten
"bubbles". They form immediately as I brush the polyurethane on, and
seem to continue forming over the space of a few minutes. They are
pretty tiny, a 16th of an inch in diameter, but they ruin the finish.
Is this a known problem? Is it air, or something else escaping from
the wood? Is there some tratment I should use before the poly to avoid
the bubbles?

If the poly is water based, you could pass a flame (torch) rapidly over
the bubbles...heating will cause them to expand and pop. I do that with
epoxy (which is flammable) but don't know if you can with oil poly.
Probably, with great care.

Another way is to live with them for a coat or two, then sand out and
apply your final coats. Once the wood is sealed, the bubbles will stop
unless you shake the varnish or apply it agressively...it needs to be
flowed on then tipped off.

Another solution is to dump the poly and use a brushing lacquer like
Deft. You may still get bubbles but it is far and away easier to use
than polyurethane.

--

dadiOH
____________________________

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dadiOH wrote:

Another solution is to dump the poly and use a brushing lacquer like
Deft.**You*may*still*get*bubbles*but*it*is*far*and *away*easier*to*use
than polyurethane.

It's hard to find any film finish easier to apply than wipe-on poly :-).
Shellac comes close (and I like the appearance better) but requires
more coats and provides less protection.

--
It's turtles, all the way down