Need advice on staining maple

[rommelgin]

almost complete building my stand and i need advice on staining maple. what is a good choice stain to use? i would like to stain it a deep dark brown, but i hear maple doesnt take to dark staining. does that sound right? also, should i rough sand in between coats of staining?

[sac-bobme]

light sand between coats ...

Like 600 girt or 400, whatever you can find.
I have stand maple and really dont remember if it takes to darks or not, so I cant help you on that sorry. But that might be why there is a stain called maple! hehe

I also like the dark wood stains and will be watching this thread because i am moving and need to build new stands for my tanks

[slavearm]

DO NOT SAND BETWEEN Stain coats. If you want a dark color you have a few options. Maple doesn't take to well to dark stains. If you are doing this yourself, I will tell you the one you are most likely to be successful with.

1. Sand no more than #150 Grit. If you are going really dark I would suggest perhaps #120. The finer you sand it, the less stain the wood will take. You need to sand well though so your stain goes on nice and even. After sanding before staining, use mineral spirits on a cloth and wipe down the entire piece. Then use a tack cloth go over the piece one final time before staining.

2. Go to a woodworking store, Rockler, Woodcraft come to mind in the orange county/LA area. Use the General Finishes Gel stain. Find a color you like. If you find a color, but it is too light, mix with the Java Gel stain to darken it up a bit until you like the color.

3. Plan on using 2-3 coats of gel stain. Try this on some scrap material. Apply the stain with foam brushes and liberally. You will need a lot of rags. This stuff is thick like pudding. Work one area at a time. Wipe the excess stain off with the rag, and use an old paint brush, or at least a cheap paintbrush to get the excess stain out of cracks and corners. It is better that each coat is thin. Even though it may appear to look good if you leave it a little thicker, there is no way you will ever get it even and it will look like crap. After wiping and completing your first coat, let it dry for a day before adding the next. Also, between coats, use a tack cloth to lightly wipe the surface and remove any dust or other stuff that may have settled on your workpiece.

4. After you have stained, get your self some general finishes Armor-Coat (I spelled it wrong) They make it in Satin, Semi-Gloss, and Gloss. The gloss is pretty gaudy for my taste, so I normally use the satin or semi-gloss. Apply the coating with a foam brush and lint-free cloths. Use the brush for larger areas, and the cloth for moldings and other hard to get into places. Work quickly and one area at a time. Wipe the excess VERY LIGHTLY with the cloth dampened in the coating to get a nice even finish. Let dry for a day.

5. After drying for a day (NO LESS, even if you "Think" it is dry) go over the surface VERY lightly with Superfine #0000 steel wool or 400 grit sandpaper. Make sure you remove all the roughness left from the first coat. Each coat will be less rough after application. Vacuum the surface to remove dust/steel wool remnants. Then follow up with a tack cloth to remove any remaining particles after the vacuum.

6. Add your next coat and follow the procedures above. DO NOT SAND AFTER THE SECOND COAT. Still use a tack cloth before applying your final coat though. DO NOT SAND/Steel Wool the final coat.

Let that dry for a couple days before you try to use it. There you have it.

[ooba]

also, before the first layer of stain, put on a sealer or coat of shellac. maple blotches really badly with a lot of stain, although using the gelstain will alleviate some of this. maple plywood wont blotch, but the solid stock will.

[BeanAnimal]

Aneline dyes and then stain are also an option... I am not sure how they will work with maple.

[Conesus_Kid]

Originally posted by slavearm
DO NOT SAND BETWEEN Stain coats. If you want a dark color you have a few options. Maple doesn't take to well to dark stains. If you are doing this yourself, I will tell you the one you are most likely to be successful with.

1. Sand no more than #150 Grit. If you are going really dark I would suggest perhaps #120. The finer you sand it, the less stain the wood will take. You need to sand well though so your stain goes on nice and even. After sanding before staining, use mineral spirits on a cloth and wipe down the entire piece. Then use a tack cloth go over the piece one final time before staining.

2. Go to a woodworking store, Rockler, Woodcraft come to mind in the orange county/LA area. Use the General Finishes Gel stain. Find a color you like. If you find a color, but it is too light, mix with the Java Gel stain to darken it up a bit until you like the color.

3. Plan on using 2-3 coats of gel stain. Try this on some scrap material. Apply the stain with foam brushes and liberally. You will need a lot of rags. This stuff is thick like pudding. Work one area at a time. Wipe the excess stain off with the rag, and use an old paint brush, or at least a cheap paintbrush to get the excess stain out of cracks and corners. It is better that each coat is thin. Even though it may appear to look good if you leave it a little thicker, there is no way you will ever get it even and it will look like crap. After wiping and completing your first coat, let it dry for a day before adding the next. Also, between coats, use a tack cloth to lightly wipe the surface and remove any dust or other stuff that may have settled on your workpiece.

4. After you have stained, get your self some general finishes Armor-Coat (I spelled it wrong) They make it in Satin, Semi-Gloss, and Gloss. The gloss is pretty gaudy for my taste, so I normally use the satin or semi-gloss. Apply the coating with a foam brush and lint-free cloths. Use the brush for larger areas, and the cloth for moldings and other hard to get into places. Work quickly and one area at a time. Wipe the excess VERY LIGHTLY with the cloth dampened in the coating to get a nice even finish. Let dry for a day.

5. After drying for a day (NO LESS, even if you "Think" it is dry) go over the surface VERY lightly with Superfine #0000 steel wool or 400 grit sandpaper. Make sure you remove all the roughness left from the first coat. Each coat will be less rough after application. Vacuum the surface to remove dust/steel wool remnants. Then follow up with a tack cloth to remove any remaining particles after the vacuum.

6. Add your next coat and follow the procedures above. DO NOT SAND AFTER THE SECOND COAT. Still use a tack cloth before applying your final coat though. DO NOT SAND/Steel Wool the final coat.

Let that dry for a couple days before you try to use it. There you have it.

This is excellent advice.

I used the General Finishes 'Java' gel stain from Woodcraft on my maple furniture. You def. want to make sure you don't go higher than #120 grit on your final sanding of the bare wood.

FWIW, I skinned my stand in poplar and used the same 'Java' stain as on my maple furniture, and it took the finish MUCH better. (plus poplar's much cheaper, although not as hard as the maple)

Here's a couple of mid-construction shots to give you an idea of the color:

[BeanAnimal]

I am also a BIG General Finishes fan. I have not used the gel stains yet though.

[slavearm]

The reason I said test the maple on scrap was twofold. If you get splotchy on the scrap, but found the color you like do this. I haven't used the gel stain with maple, just Birch, Lyptus, and Red Oak so far.

Sand with 100 or so. Sand with 120. Wipe down with a damp rag. Make sure you get the entire thing slightly damp. Then wait 30 minutes and do your final sanding. This should even out the surface a little better and remove most if not all of the splotchyness.

[sac-bobme]

Nice information guys thanks

[marino420td]

Here is my maple stand stained with Sherwin Williams Cherry stain. I applied wood conditioner after sanding and before staining to prevent splotches.

[ChemE]

Yup, on soft woods wood conditioner is the way to go. It will help them take stain evenly and prevent blotching.

[RobinsonFam1]

ditto on the conditioner. you can also use a product called sand and seal.

make sure you sand with the grain. be very careful when using poer sanders on maple since the scrathes left from the grit will show once stain is applied.

if you want it dark and rich use a brush to apply the stain even and liberally. after about 5 minutes or so use clean towels/wiping cloths and wipe the stain evenly. letting it soak before wiping it will allow more penetration time to soak in.

[slavearm]

Honestly, if you are trying to stain that wood dark, take my advice and ditch the conditioner. The only thing you are going to achieve using that with a gelstain is a color much lighter than you intend. Maple isn't always splotchy, even less so when using a gel stain. Use the method I outlined above, if the scrap comes out blotchy, then use the damp rag/sand method I mentioned earlier.