Birch cabinet stain dilema. Blotchy

[Hiline]

Hi All,
My painter and cabinet manufacturer have had problems in the past staining birch cabinets.
In fact my painter hates it when the client specs out birch. It seems no matter what preparation he does, the stain wants to go on blotchy. The last time he had to strip down the cabinets and re-stain and they turned out fine the second time, (for no apparent reason). But you don't really know what you're going to get until it's done.
He tried using top of the line conditioners, applied very heavily, and very lightly. Still having the same problem. Right now he's doing samples for the client to make stain selections but we're both afraid of what might happen when we get to the real deal. The samples are not good.
Has anyone had issues like this and what might the solution be?
Thank You

[JohnCR]

I've heard that you can get better results with a dye, like Lockwood. I would ask over on Woodweb.

[tjbnwi]

The reason it turned out well after stripping, is the wood was sealed.

Conditioners won't work, use Seal Coat. A spray only stain or dye over the seal coat is your best bet.

Find a commercial Sherwin Williams near you, they'll take you through the steps.

Trans Tint dye, Homestead finishing, check out their forum.

http://www.homesteadfinishingproducts.com/phpBB2/

Tom

[calvert]

The reason it turned out well after stripping, is the wood was sealed.

Conditioners won't work, use Seal Coat. A spray only stain or dye over the seal coat is your best bet.

Find a commercial Sherwin Williams near you, they'll take you through the steps.

Trans Tint dye, Homestead finishing, check out their forum.

http://www.homesteadfinishingproducts.com/phpBB2/

Tom

I agree with Tom for the most part. Just be sure what you are identifying as blotchiness is not really a natural variation in the grain that produces a striking visual difference known as "chatoyance". This is a reality in wood such as maple, birch, cherry and a few others. The visual effect is like the "quilted" version of any of those woods. Sealing with what Tom suggested, the Seal Coat by Zinsser, (read instruction, thin out material), will prevent penetration of the stain on a irregular basis but you could still be accentuating the natural variation in the wood with the sealer.

I am just finishing up the last of a job with cherry solid and plywood panels. My supplier is a great guy and a lot of the cherry shows "quilting". To some this may appear as blotchiness but it is not. The visuals are great in person but to look at it in a picture, ...you might confuse it with a blotchy appearance.

I have 3 thinned coats of Seal Coat on it and the Trans-Tint dye was added to the first of the acrylic finish coats. Most of the job has 5 clear coats over the initial dyed coat. Just be careful with the dyes, a little goes a long way. We are counting "drops" here.

[Hiline]

Awesome responses! Time for some experimentation.
Thanks

[JMS BUILDERS]

The reason it turned out well after stripping, is the wood was sealed.

Conditioners won't work, use Seal Coat. A spray only stain or dye over the seal coat is your best bet.

Find a commercial Sherwin Williams near you, they'll take you through the steps.

Trans Tint dye, Homestead finishing, check out their forum.

http://www.homesteadfinishingproducts.com/phpBB2/

Tom

Yep , proverbial nail on head,


One of the other things that have helped us over the years is hitting every surface with a wet rag, essentially wiping to raise the grain and then finish sand and follow steps above, really takes out the deviations you just don't see with the naked eye.