# Blotchy Beechwood



## Jophus14 (Aug 21, 2012)

I am looking for some input or suggestions as to why my wood might be blotchy as seen in the photos. I sanded the wood to 220 and put on a wood conditioner before staining. I applied a liberal amount of conditioner and let it soak in for roughly 30 minutes. To be honest, I'm not sure if the stain is blotchy or if that is how beechwood looks when stained. I know beechwood is usually finished with more of a natural look, but I wanted the chair to be a dark, rich color. Thanks.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

The only thing you can do is chemically strip the stain from the wood with paint and varnish remover, sand it and re-stain it. The color would be more uniform if you would use a dye to color it rather than an oil stain. 

I don't believe I've ever stained beech. I don't understand it getting that blotchy using a wood conditioner. You might use a different brand of stain on the next project. This one seems too penetrating.


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## phinds (Mar 25, 2009)

It got blotchy because you stained it. Staining wood is evil :smile:

If you don't like the look of a wood, find one you DO like the look of. Looks like what you were shooting for there was something like walnut. Why not just USE walnut?


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## Jophus14 (Aug 21, 2012)

I originally bought the chair with refinishing it in mind. I would hate to have to strip and sand the chair all over again. Is there a way to lightly sand with a higher grit sandpaper in hopes of getting the stain more even?


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## Bill White 2 (Jun 23, 2012)

I usually wet the surface before final sanding to raise the grain, sanding nibs, etc. before conditioning and staining.
Sure has helped me.
Bill


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## Jophus14 (Aug 21, 2012)

I was watching a video regarding stain from the Wood Whisperer and he put a gel stain on top of an oil based stained wood board with blotches and it somewhat covered the blotches up. Has anyone ever tried doing this? How did it turn out? I am just trying to find a potential fix prior to spending another few weeks sanding the entire chair down. It would be easier to get through one coat of oil based stain opposed to trying the gel stain "trick" and having to sand through two layers of stain. Thanks.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Jophus14 said:


> I was watching a video regarding stain from the Wood Whisperer and he put a gel stain on top of an oil based stained wood board with blotches and it somewhat covered the blotches up. Has anyone ever tried doing this? How did it turn out? I am just trying to find a potential fix prior to spending another few weeks sanding the entire chair down. It would be easier to get through one coat of oil based stain opposed to trying the gel stain "trick" and having to sand through two layers of stain. Thanks.


Gel stain is more like a thin down enamel paint so it would cover however it would be darker and cover up the natural wood too. If you have the means of spraying you could also use a dye of similar color as the stain and shade the lighter areas making it more uniform. Many places also sell toners in aerosol cans you could use to even the color up. It would probably be easier and better though to strip it and start over.


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