# Staining oak plywood



## jimmiebear (Jul 8, 2007)

I am building a bookcase out of oak plywood. Yesterday I applied the stain on some scrap and noticed that some areas didn't take the stain the same and looked like there were two different shades. What can I do to get it all to come out the same color. Please help.:blink:


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## mdlbldrmatt135 (Dec 6, 2006)

it might be the diffrent Veneer flitches on the face. try sanding everythig then applying a Sanding sealer


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## jimmiebear (Jul 8, 2007)

I think you are correct about the Veneer on the face. I'll try the sanding sealer. Thanks for the Information.


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

If it is the darker color you want you might try restaining the lighter portion. Sometimes the sealer will prevent colorization. You may sand through the veneer trying to get out all the stain. You may also try a solvent wipe, like mineral spirits, or lacquer thinner.


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## Big Dave (Sep 16, 2006)

Plywood doesn't stain as dark as solid wood. A trick to help it absorb more stain is to water pop it. What you do is take a rag and get it wet with water. Wring out all the water then rub the damp rag over the surface of the plywood until it looks damp. This will open the grain and let more stain soak into the pores.


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## Leo G (Oct 16, 2006)

This is probably a plain sliced oak veneer. They usually use book matched flitches. This means that one flitch is the front side and the other is the backside. I had this with some PS Cherry, I ended up with a slightly stripped effect. What I usually do to solve this is apply a clear stain base to the plywood and let it dry completely. This will fill in the drier areas and seal them from over absorption of stain. The other way is to seal the wood with a 5% solids solution of sanding sealer or finish. If you over do it you will not be able to stain the wood dark and will have to rely on using a shading toner.


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## jimmiebear (Jul 8, 2007)

*Saining Oak Plywood*

Used sanding sealer and came out pretty darn good.
Thanks to all for the great information. Jimmiebear:yes:


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