# Contractor blotchy stain on pine Anderson windows



## puppewindows (Oct 10, 2012)

Our general contractor, who is a Pella dealer, stained all of our new construction Anderson (interior pine) windows without using a conditioner first and the stain is blotchy & greatly varied in color. The window trim is a darkly stained knotty alder & looks awful with the pine interior. We were told they could match anything. I feel this is grossly unprofessional & voiced my concerns. They told me they never condition before staining & later quit. What, if anything, can we do to remedy this situation? Would a toner help? It's about 40g's in windows or whatever it would cost for someone to refinish & the extra time not getting into our new home. Thanks.


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

Have the contractor re-do them or have them be responsible for getting them done to your satisfaction.










 








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## puppewindows (Oct 10, 2012)

Can't, he walked off the job after I confronted him about the blotchy stain.


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

puppewindows said:


> Can't, he walked off the job after I confronted him about the blotchy stain.


For the value of the job, if you aren't experienced with finishing techniques, it would be worthwhile to have it done by someone who is. You could sue him for performance. Or, if you decide to try to pick up some tips as to what to do, it's taking a chance that you could make things worse. 









 







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## puppewindows (Oct 10, 2012)

we would hire it done professionally. talked to a professional finisher & was told we could darken the wood with toner. He is too busy to take on the project but is his tip a good one? i added a picture to my photos for reference. thanks.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Your right, the color isn't remotely similar. If it would work for you to darken the pine to match the alder it would be easier. This is something you could fix yourself. It would take some tinkering but you could mix some gel stain and use it on just the pine. This will darken it and subdue the blotchiness of the pine. If you need the alder to be lightened it appears the alder has a finish on it so you would have to strip and refinish the trim to make it match closer. Refinishing it on the wall would have you touching up the paint on the wall because it would be too hard to get the finish off and all the sanding. Alder was a bad choice anyway with pine. If they had put a clear finish on it without any stain it would have come much closer to the pine but more tan looking. I believe before I would refinish the trim I would remove it and replace it with pine trim. Alder will soak up stain deep.


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## puppewindows (Oct 10, 2012)

Thanks for the help. We want to darken the pine. What brand of gel stain would you recommend? Does it matter that the pine has a Minwax Helsman Spar Urethane/clear finish on it? And can we apply the gel stain directly to the pine or do we have to prep the wood?


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

I believe the Minwax gelstain is about as good as any of them. You can use it over the spar varnish however you will need to scuff sand the varnish with 220 grit paper for better adhesion. You will probably have to purchase two or three colors near to the color of the alder to be able intermix them to have the pigments to match the color. From what I can see in the picture you will probably need a stain with a reddish color and perhaps a black one to darken it with. Normally we advise anyone to make test samples of the stain but in your case I would test in on the windows. If it doesn't match you can just wipe it off. Also when you do this expect the stain to dry darker than when it is wet so leave it slightly light. If your cautious you can leave it light and put a second coat after it dries to go darker. 

In the future don't use a spar varnish on interior wood. A spar varnish is formulated for use outdoors where it has to deal the extremes of heat and cold. The finish is softer and doesn't wear as well. The finish is also more incline to yellow over time. A interior oil based polyurethane would be a better choice for interior woodwork.


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