# Wood not taking in the stain



## aaronhl (Jun 2, 2011)

I put in prefinished oak hard wood floors (real wood) and have to stain match some stair nosing, railings, and various other surfaces. I contacted the manufacturer of the prefinished hardwood and they gave me the stain code to have PPG mix it for me. I bought the stain from PPG and have been using some scrap pieces of oak similar to the wood flooring to try it out before I stain the stair nosing and put it in.

It's a thick, dark black, poly stain that needs to be mixed very well before I brush it on. The color of the flooring is called "Oak Shale" and surprisingly the stain looks like dirty shale oil when I brush it on. The directions say to brush it on and let it sit for 15 minutes before wiping it off. I do that but the stain barely soaks into the wood no matter how many layers I try. It ends up being a lit lighter than the prefinished wood. I am having some trouble applying it, do you have any recommendations on what to do. Hopefully I explained that well. You guys have more experience with applying stain.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

aaronhl said:


> I put in prefinished oak hard wood floors (real wood) and have to stain match some stair nosing, railings, and various other surfaces. I contacted the manufacturer of the prefinished hardwood and they gave me the stain code to have PPG mix it for me. I bought the stain from PPG and have been using some scrap pieces of oak similar to the wood flooring to try it out before I stain the stair nosing and put it in.
> 
> It's a thick, dark black, poly stain that needs to be mixed very well before I brush it on. The color of the flooring is called "Oak Shale" and surprisingly the stain looks like dirty shale oil when I brush it on. The directions say to brush it on and let it sit for 15 minutes before wiping it off. I do that but the stain doesn't soak into the wood no matter how many layers I try. I am having some trouble applying it, do you have any recommendations on what to do. Hopefully I explained that well. You guys have more experience with applying stain.


15 minutes is a very long time to allow stain to soak. If you are not getting the color then the stain is too light for the wood you are using. The way the wood is prepared affects the color too. On oak if you sand the wood to a too fine a grit the stain won't get as dark. You might try sanding a sample with some coarser paper. 

One thing you don't want to do is allow any stain to dry on the surface. This can easily happen if you do multiple coats of stain. Stain won't bond to the surface of wood like paint. What can happen is if some is left on the surface the finish will bond to the stain instead of the wood and peal off. If you just cannot achieve a dark enough color you could first stain the wood with an aniline dye stain and then apply the Oak Shale stain. The dye stain is more like ink and actually colors the fibers of the wood so it doesn't affect the PPG stain. The dye stain I use is this one. http://www.mohawk-finishing.com/catalog_browse.asp?ictNbr=178


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## Jim Frye (Aug 24, 2016)

The statement that the stain must be mixed very well tells me that it has a high pigment content and that means the wood will have to have a surface that can hold that pigment. If it doesn't, younwill just wipe the color off. Steve's suggestipn to experiment with sanding grit is a good place to start. Using a dye base will help with the coloring also.


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## aaronhl (Jun 2, 2011)

Thanks for the help and education guys...Is there a stain base I can buy at Home Depot? I will try that as well as to sand the wood with a coarse grit and report back.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

aaronhl said:


> Thanks for the help and education guys...Is there a stain base I can buy at Home Depot? I will try that as well as to sand the wood with a coarse grit and report back.


Since you are having difficulty getting the wood dark enough with the stain you are using what you need is ink. You might go to an office supply store and buy a bottle of ink to practice with. Alcohol is the solvent for ink so you might pick up a can of denatured alcohol from HD to thin it with. You might also get some rubber gloves so you don't stain you paws with. 

The ink will substantially darken the wood so when you use your wood stain it should work. You will just have to do some tinkering to come up with the right formula to do what you want. Try to measure how much alcohol you add to the ink in case you have to make more.


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## aaronhl (Jun 2, 2011)

Steve Neul said:


> Since you are having difficulty getting the wood dark enough with the stain you are using what you need is ink. You might go to an office supply store and buy a bottle of ink to practice with. Alcohol is the solvent for ink so you might pick up a can of denatured alcohol from HD to thin it with. You might also get some rubber gloves so you don't stain you paws with.
> 
> The ink will substantially darken the wood so when you use your wood stain it should work. You will just have to do some tinkering to come up with the right formula to do what you want. Try to measure how much alcohol you add to the ink in case you have to make more.


If I was to choose one of the dye stain, how can I choose one to compliment the color of the poly oak shale stain?


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

aaronhl said:


> If I was to choose one of the dye stain, how can I choose one to compliment the color of the poly oak shale stain?


Not being there and seeing the actual sample my best guess for dye which would work with the oak shale is black. A dark walnut dye would add red to the color.


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## aaronhl (Jun 2, 2011)

Good info especially because there is no red at all in the prefinished flooring. I think you are right with the black


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

aaronhl said:


> Good info especially because there is no red at all in the prefinished flooring. I think you are right with the black


Just be sure to over thin the ink. You can use as many coats as you want of that to achieve the color you want but if you get too much you are in trouble. Ink is as hard to get off as you can imagine.


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