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Staining issues – advice please
We got some white oak, raw unfinished cabinets and when we stained we are getting a lot of blotchiness and a rainbow of different colors with stains taking more to the center than the edge trim of the cabinet doors. When sanding to try again we aren’t getting very deep and see more blotches. Are these solid wood or have a veneer? Is there a special product we should be using? Is there any sort of protective seal installed in the factory that prevents stain from soaking?
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2 Replies
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Rift white oak is one of the few woods that is naturally water resistant and therefore slows the absorption of stain. White oak has long been used in boat building for this reason, as it resists water penetration.
All of our rift white oak is milled, shaped, sanded, and left raw. No manufacturer would apply a coating to raw wood unless it is specifically ordered that way, as it would be extremely counterproductive and essentially add cost for no reason.
I am not familiar with the exact product or process you used, but when we stain white oak, we mist/spray the entire door in two passes to prevent waves and uneven blotchiness. Our process is machine sprayed for consistency, which removes human variation.
We use a water based stain, applied in two light coats with drying/oven curing time between each pass. After that, we apply two clear topcoats to fully seal the product and lock in the stain. Sanding is only done between the clear coats using a fine grit sandpaper, never sanding the actual stain itself as that can leave swirls.
If I can make one recommendation to anyone staining wood, start with very light coats and build up gradually. Apply at least two light coats, and more if needed. Do not try to achieve full coverage in a single pass, as the stain will pool and bead.
In theory, you can apply as many coats as needed, allowing proper drying time between each application, then finish with a topcoat to seal the surface. Trial and error is key until you develop a process that is consistent and repeatable.
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Also, based on your photo, it looks like this may be getting sprayed. If that’s the case, it appears the operator is angling the spray gun to hit the inside edge, which is causing an extra pass of stain to build up around the panel edge and along the stiles and rails.
In other words, the gun angle is favoring that inside edge. This leads to excess stain accumulating on the frame faces while the center of the panel is under-covered or missed entirely.
A better approach is to apply multiple light coats in a consistent, even pattern without favoring the inside edges of the frame, basically forgetting about them altogether. That will help eliminate the haloing around the panel. As always, staining involves some trial and error to dial in the technique.
