# Technique for grey stain on maple



## was2ndlast (Apr 11, 2014)

Hey gents. Building a desk from wormy maple. Going for a weathered grey finish. Sanded to 180 grit, no sealer conditioner but I would like more grey. It's blotchy of course but I was testing to see absorption first. I'm using varathane weather grey stain. Pics of my sample as well as raw wood. Will pre conditioning increase absorption? I thought it would actually do the opposite. Any help would be greatly appreciated. It's a big desk too so lots of surface to cover.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

A pre-conditioner will reduce absorption. Conditioners are sealers which seal the wood so stains don't go blotchy. I don't have any experience with the stain you are using. I would probably mix some gray latex paint and use that for stain. Possibly depending on the color you want use a darker dye with the paint to bring out the grain.


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## was2ndlast (Apr 11, 2014)

Yup....I'm going to spray GF's milk paint. I'll layer light over dark and sand lightly. Top coat with wb lacquer. Sound ok Steve?


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

As long as you use the milk paint for stain and not build any real volume on the surface you should be able to use the wb lacquer over the top.


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## RandyReed (Jul 30, 2014)

was2ndlast said:


> Hey gents. Building a desk from wormy maple. Going for a weathered grey finish. Sanded to 180 grit, no sealer conditioner but I would like more grey. It's blotchy of course but I was testing to see absorption first. I'm using varathane weather grey stain. Pics of my sample as well as raw wood. Will pre conditioning increase absorption? I thought it would actually do the opposite. Any help would be greatly appreciated. It's a big desk too so lots of surface to cover.


Pre conditioner will not increase absorption. 

I would do a test piece with and without a pre conditioner and see which one you like the best. Just remember to scuff sand the dried pre conditioner lightly with 320 before applying the stain.

Remember that whatever you use to make sure that the stain is completely dry before applying the wb topcoat.


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## CNYWOODS (Apr 22, 2012)

Another option would be to use bin shellac primer... Have them tint it at the counter or tint yourself. Then topcoat with your wb finish. Sands easy.. Bit cheaper.. No grain raising.


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## was2ndlast (Apr 11, 2014)

Thanks for the suggestions. Unfortunately I'm going with milk paint. Miscommunication on the finish with my wife Jen led me to use wormy maple...I don't like it very much. It's so inconsistent with hard parts and really brittle parts...I had some boards Crack right in have after my glue up and tear out on the planer was near impossible to avoid. Ah well...all part of my educational journey.


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## Quickstep (Apr 10, 2012)

Man, I love the crazy grain in those boards - hate to see it covered up.


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## RandyReed (Jul 30, 2014)

Quickstep said:


> Man, I love the crazy grain in those boards - hate to see it covered up.


A good dye stain or a very thin paint will not cover up the grain, which is the way I would go. If you start going with toners/gel stains you start loosing grain.


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## was2ndlast (Apr 11, 2014)

I'm going to try spraying thinned milk paint to see how that looks. I so much rather not paint or stain but the raw wood is not the look we're going for.


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## was2ndlast (Apr 11, 2014)

Too blotchy


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## RandyReed (Jul 30, 2014)

On maple, you will have to apply a wood preconditioner to avoid blotchiness. The only stain you can apply without blotchiness is a spray applied ACETONE based dye stain.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

I think what you are perceiving as blotchyness is natural streaks in the wood. There isn't a lot you can do as far as finishing to correct that. You maybe could have mixed a dye and shade the lighter wood with a sprayer. This is very hard to do and keep it off the natural streaks.


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## was2ndlast (Apr 11, 2014)

Yeah, the blotchyness I refer to is the staining that the worms cause when they release a chemical into the wood. I bought wormy because I thought my wife wanted an uneven distressed finish...oops. It's nice but not for this desk.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

I thought you were going for a gray look like the desk had been sitting out in the weather for a couple years.


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## RandyReed (Jul 30, 2014)

Steve Neul said:


> I thought you were going for a gray look like the desk had been sitting out in the weather for a couple years.


Pine would look great for that look in a grey washed finish.


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## was2ndlast (Apr 11, 2014)

Steve Neul said:


> I thought you were going for a gray look like the desk had been sitting out in the weather for a couple years.


I am...now. Even colour as best as possible but would like to not hide all the grain.


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## was2ndlast (Apr 11, 2014)

RandyReed said:


> Pine would look great for that look in a grey washed finish.


But it's a desk so I thought too soft.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Yea, pine if you wrote something with a pen without a pad under it you would be able to see what your wrote in the wood.


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## RandyReed (Jul 30, 2014)

Steve Neul said:


> Yea, pine if you wrote something with a pen without a pad under it you would be able to see what your wrote in the wood.


If you apply 2 coats of conversion varnish or 2 coats of a precat lacquer it would hold up nicely. Ive done pine dinning room tables with CV that has had no issues at all for several customers. As cheap as pine is, the cost of CV would equal out.


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