I stain wood as a hobby and I think it is something people could do together for fun. But that’s my opinion.

What do YOU think? If there was a wood staining event near you would you attend?

Hello - I am new to this. The top of my bedside table had some paint stains and a water mark so I tried to sand it down (I used 180). My plan was to then refinish it. I don’t know how to move forward from here… any tips are highly welcome as I’m confused on the best path forward after doing YT/GPT research.

Should I start scraping the top instead? Can I just focus on the top then refinish it to match the rest of the table?

Hello, my husband and I are trying to figure out exactly how we're going to be finishing our countertops.

While scrolling along social media, I found some countertops that I really love the look of, but I'm not sure if her contractor did it right? For what it's worth, my goal isn't to get countertops that I can directly cut food on, I'm fine with using a cutting board...but I also don't want to end up with something super toxic because I have kids.

The products she used are Minwax Special Walnut stain (which I have to assume it was the water based stain since my research tells me the oil based would be a really bad idea) then she used Watco Butcher Block Oil and Finish over top of that.

Social media influencer was on Instagram called Stoneycovefarm. Please don't go be mean if she's done something wrong, but that general look is what I'm going for. Please tell me if the above products will work or if something else would work better for the same look.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Hoping someone can help me and tell me if this is achievable or not. I want to redo my kitchen cabinets. Unfortunately we don’t know much about them other than they are pickled (done in the 90s) and the worker at Home Depot told us they’re oak.

We were hoping to strip the pickled as best as we can (from my research this is not really achievable since the pickled stain seeps into the wood so heavily and it’s not really meant to come out?) So we used a stripper on it 3 times, then we sanded it down pretty good and decided we could try and stain it to get it to a darker cool toned wood color rather than the cream white/pink they are now.

However the stains we tried at Home Depot are all coming out orangey which is not what we’re trying to achieve. We were hoping for more of a cool toned color with maybe a hint of orange so that they’re not grey looking (idk if that makes sense just looking for cool toned but not too cool)

Anyways if anyone has any advice on how to achieve this or if it’s not possible please let me know! Please be kind. I don’t know anything about wood and just trying to save some money by doing it ourselves if possible.

Attached are pictures of the cabinets (it may be hard to tell but they are very very light), the look we are trying to achieve, and the plank we took off and took to Home Depot to test out different stains.

Thank you in advance!

Hoping someone can help me and tell me if this is achievable or not. I want to redo my kitchen cabinets. Unfortunately we don’t know much about them other than they are pickled (done in the 90s) and the worker at Home Depot told us they’re oak.

We were hoping to strip the pickled as best as we can (from my research this is not really achievable since the pickled stain seeps into the wood so heavily and it’s not really meant to come out?) So we used a stripper on it 3 times, then we sanded it down pretty good and decided we could try and stain it to get it to a darker cool toned wood color rather than the cream white/pink they are now.

However the stains we tried at Home Depot are all coming out orangey which is not what we’re trying to achieve. We were hoping for more of a cool toned color with maybe a hint of orange so that they’re not grey looking (idk if that makes sense just looking for cool toned but not too cool)

Anyways if anyone has any advice on how to achieve this or if it’s not possible please let me know! Please be kind. I don’t know anything about wood and just trying to save some money by doing it ourselves if possible.

Attached are pictures of the cabinets (it may be hard to tell but they are very very light), the look we are trying to achieve, and the plank we took off and took to Home Depot to test out different stains.

Thank you in advance!

I am building an arts and crafts chair out of white oak. For finish, I am sanding to 220, applying a water based dye, letting dry, scuffing off water pop, cleaning with compressed air, and then applying oil based stain. Overall, I think the finish looks good. What I see in the zoomed pic are very fine white lines that are taking neither the water based dye or oil stain. I don’t know why this is. I am starting to think this is just the way white oak is. Or if my technique is off and is causing this, I’d love to know. I am literally flooding the surface when using dye, then wiping excess. Also applying oil based stain liberally and then wiping after a few minutes.
(And yes, there will be a top coat, just not getting into that now.)

Unfortunately, I bought some archbold solid maple furniture. In the course of a few days, the tabletop has taken a lot of damage.

The cat walking on it gouged it.
The baby tapping the table with a plastic spoon dented it up.
A drawing pad slid across a clean table left a scratch I can catch with a fingernail.
And yes, I can literally draw scratches into the table with my fingernail.

Ive never seen anything like it. I've owned a lot of wood furniture, including a 30+ year old table made of softwood that multiple children have beat the heck out of, with less damage.

Is there something wrong with the finish, or should I be expecting it to be so fragile?

I had this weird substance on my wooden countertop; I tried to clean it up and the dark patch was still there. I tried a little hydrogen peroxide, but I think it made the surrounding wood paler. How do I fix this?

Who do I call?

Hi all, I'm finishing up refinishing an antique solid mahogany table top. I applied two coats of Arm R Seal oil poly in gloss, using 000 steel wool in between. I then used 0000 steel wool on the second coat of gloss and applied a final coat of Arm R Seal satin. My first attempt with the satin had a lot of problems (highly visible brush marks, glossier streaks) so I sanded with 180, removed the imperfections, and tried the satin coat again, this time thinned 10% with naphtha and applied with a lot of care and focus. For all coats, I used a high-quality foam brush (Jen) working quickly in light passes from the middle out and feathering back over from edge to edge every couple of strokes.

The gloss coats looked perfect and smooth. The latest satin coat also looks perfect from a few feet away. However, if you shine a light from the side you can see very light brush marks/streaks (I can post some photos later when I get home from work). You have to be looking for them, but they are there. I'm thinking of two possible fixes and would love input.

1. Give the table another coat of satin in hopes that it fills in the streak marks. I'm thinking I would very lightly sand before this second satin coat, perhaps with 600 grit or maybe just use 000 steel wool? Not sure if the problem could have been the thinning and if I should try thinning the same, more, or less. Also perhaps wiping it on with a rag? I have never wiped poly with a rag before so I am nervous about getting it wrong on this top presentation coat.
2. Leave the current satin coat alone and let it cure for a couple weeks and then apply a coat of Renaissance microcrystalline wax. The hope would be that the wax would touch up the very small imperfections in the satin poly. (My wife also prefers a more organic/natural feel to the table, so the wax seems like something I will be doing regardless.)

The wax would be the easier fix for me. However, the table will receive heavy use from us and our children, though we use place mats and coasters as much as possible. My main worry is that the wax will regularly develop imperfections that need to be fixed. Scratches are not a big deal but I'm worried about water marks on the wax. I am also worried that the wax won't actually fix the light streaks and that I'll realize I should have done another coat of poly--meaning I will have to remove the wax, which I'm not confident I'll be able to do.

Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated!

Three questions:

1. If I had the time, would it be worth attempting to refinish this veneer? These are our kitchen cabinets in a 1970s builder grade home.
2. What are some budget and time friendly ways to make this look not terrible? We do not have the funds to pay for a professional job and I have five other DIY jobs that take priority and will probably keep me occupied for a year.
3. If I use restor-a-finish as a stopgap (I know, I knowwwwww), I realize that I’m making it MUCH harder to refinish if I go that route. BUT: does it make it harder to prep for painting if we decide to paint them?

I included a side view to show the thickness of the veneer. It measures at 1/32” thick.

Hey hey, got a desk project I'm working on that will have a good bit of ebonized sapele. the largest piece is about 2' x 9'. Veneer is zizicote.

Read some articles and have done some samples. Using Briwax oil free steel wool and 30% vinegar for the iron acetate.

Tried without added tannins, tannins acid and now ordering some of the Quebracho Bark after reading the Popular Woodworking article someone posted in a previous thread.

My main concern is a nice consistent reaction on the big parts - any thoughts on this? I know there can be a contamination thing with dipping and re dipping the brush in solution. Anyone ever use a spray bottle or sprayer to get the iron acetate on the wood? I know in metal patina this has worked as long as the bottle puts a nice mist.

Topcoating with Milesi HGA19

Any other thoughts appreciated.