# Solvent Based Stain



## GAF (Nov 4, 2012)

I recently bought some custom mixed wood stain called X-Pert Specialty Wood Finish (XST-100 Wiping Stain) made by Dulux / ICI in Canada. It is sold commercially only.

Does anyone have any experience with this product? It was difficult to get any application instructions for this stain.

When I asked if it was an oil based stain I was told that it was solvent based and the reaction was that I was asking a dumb question.

I guess that I do not understand what is meant by a solvent based stain. Any clarification would help.

Thank you.

Gary


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## Bill White 2 (Jun 23, 2012)

Solvent based products will have volatile components such as mineral spirits, acetone, naptha, etc.
Usually have a flammable warning on the label.
Bill


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## GAF (Nov 4, 2012)

Bill White said:


> Solvent based products will have volatile components such as mineral spirits, acetone, naptha, etc.
> Usually have a flammable warning on the label.
> Bill


Thanks Bill. I will do more reading to try to understand better what is in an oil based stain.

Gary


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Most solvent based stains are oil based stains. They are a mixture of linseed oil, pigment and mineral spirits. There are also solvent based stains that are aniline dye powders mixed with alcohol. Then there is lacquer stains with are nitrocellulose mixed with pigment and thinned with lacquer thinner. Minwax wood finish is a mixture of aniline dye powders, pigment, linseed oil and mineral spirits. There probably is a bunch more I can't think of offhand.

I'm having difficulty finding out what kind of stain you have. One site says it's a wiping stain and another says it a lacquer stain.


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## Rick Mosher (Feb 26, 2009)

Just read the MSDS sheet. They have to supply you with one and the ingredient at the top will be the highest percentage in the mix.


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## GAF (Nov 4, 2012)

Steve Neul said:


> Most solvent based stains are oil based stains. They are a mixture of linseed oil, pigment and mineral spirits. There are also solvent based stains that are aniline dye powders mixed with alcohol. Then there is lacquer stains with are nitrocellulose mixed with pigment and thinned with lacquer thinner. Minwax wood finish is a mixture of aniline dye powders, pigment, linseed oil and mineral spirits. There probably is a bunch more I can't think of offhand.
> 
> I'm having difficulty finding out what kind of stain you have. One site says it's a wiping stain and another says it a lacquer stain.


Steve thanks for the clarification. Frankly I think that the guy I was asking the questions to was bring a complete jerk. Bottom line I don't really know if what he mixed for me is an oil base stain. Presumably it will not matter and I will proceed to top coat it with oil based poly.

I live in a small city of 75,000 people and this is the only place in town that will custom mix stain. They charged me almost $35 for a QUART.

This is the final chapter of my original "Staining Birch" set of questions. I have not figured out why the 10-15 color tests that I did with dyes and stains were such a disaster and then this custom mixed solution got the right color so easily but I am sure glad that it did.

I also had an impossible time finding out information on this product.

Gary


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## GAF (Nov 4, 2012)

Rick Mosher said:


> Just read the MSDS sheet. They have to supply you with one and the ingredient at the top will be the highest percentage in the mix.


Rick I did go back and ask for some information on the product which I reluctantly received. The 2 page document is not titled MSDS specs. It does not provide the list of ingredients. But it does indicate that the clean up solvent is lacquer thinner which solves part of the mystery.

Gary


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

At 35 bucks a quart I would look into making my own stain. The pigment is the same the paint stores use to color latex paint. Burnt umber is the most common color for stain. My Sherwin Williams doesn't sell it though. I have to mix raw umber and red oxide to make burnt umber. Then if the color is more yellow then yellow oxide is used a lot. It's just bright yellow and raw umber. You would just need a way to measure the volume to standardize your stains. Then it just needs linseed oil as a binder to bond it to the wood and mineral spirits to thin it.


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## Webster (Mar 6, 2009)

Steve Neul said:


> At 35 bucks a quart I would look into making my own stain. The pigment is the same the paint stores use to color latex paint. Burnt umber is the most common color for stain. My Sherwin Williams doesn't sell it though. I have to mix raw umber and red oxide to make burnt umber. Then if the color is more yellow then yellow oxide is used a lot. It's just bright yellow and raw umber. You would just need a way to measure the volume to standardize your stains. Then it just needs linseed oil as a binder to bond it to the wood and mineral spirits to thin it.


If you have a Artist's supply store near by, they should have the burnt umber there in pigment form. I usually pay around $10 - $12. for a small jar.


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## GAF (Nov 4, 2012)

Steve Neul said:


> At 35 bucks a quart I would look into making my own stain. The pigment is the same the paint stores use to color latex paint. Burnt umber is the most common color for stain. My Sherwin Williams doesn't sell it though. I have to mix raw umber and red oxide to make burnt umber. Then if the color is more yellow then yellow oxide is used a lot. It's just bright yellow and raw umber. You would just need a way to measure the volume to standardize your stains. Then it just needs linseed oil as a binder to bond it to the wood and mineral spirits to thin it.


More expansion to consider but sounds pretty sophisticated to me.

Gary


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

GAF said:


> More expansion to consider but sounds pretty sophisticated to me.
> 
> Gary


Personally I don't care for homemade stain. It works well but I've never had the means of accurately measuring the volume of the pigment. If you could measure the pigment accurate then it would be simple. When I do a job for someone I write down the brand and color of the prepackaged stain I use in a notebook. That way years later if someone wants to add to the job I have a pretty good start in matching the color. If I were to get into making stain I would have to have every batch mixed the same and give it a name like the paint companies do.


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