Staining Oak into a dark red / cherry color?

[akunec]

Is there a way to stain oak into a dark red / cherry color? Like This. I've tried natural cherry which turns out brown and red mahogany turns out darker brown, but they both have very little red in them. Anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks
Alex

[Audiophilenoob]

Originally posted by akunec
Is there a way to stain oak into a dark red / cherry color? Like This. I've tried natural cherry which turns out brown and red mahogany turns out darker brown, but they both have very little red in them. Anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks
Alex

are you using red oak?

oak doesn't soak up stain that well

in fact I tried to do a pickled oak on red oak... and it would NOT absorb even with 100 grit before I stained

[paulhfx]

Alex,

What kind of stains are you using?

Two options
1) experiment - pick up the reddest stain you can find and mix it with your mahogany and/or cherry to get the colour you want.
2) better option - find a stain supplier (not the big box places but a professional store that supplies stain, lacquer and other finishes to millwork shops etc) and get a litre or two custom blended to your colour

Paul

[Geek]

Ah, I've done that!

Just stock Behr oil stain. You'll need 5+ coats for that darkness.

I see you're Canadian too - Rona is your friend here

[justinc]

try minwax bombay mahogany. Its nice and easy to apply, and I think exactly the color your looking for.

[bluemax]

Hello, I've done a bit of wood finishing (and re-finishing) and from my experience, you'll never get the depth of color your looking for out of a stain. The type of wood you're working with just isn't compatible. Though it's possible you could get something close to the same shade by heavy layering of multiple coats, it won't have any depth and any blotches you have will be accented.

However, you can get exactly what you are looking for by using a water based wood dye (check woodworking stores like Rockler). It comes in a powder base you mix with warm water and can be applied via brush or spray. (I STRONGLY suggest using a sprayer for the best finish)

Once the dye is dry, simply poly or shellac over it to seal and finish.

NOTE:
most "assembly line" furniture isn't stained anymore. Dyes are faster, cheaper and give a more uniform color and finish.

Good luck with your project,
~blue

[paulhfx]

Bluemax has a good suggestion - the type of he's referring to is 'aniline', which does an excellent job of staining without covering grain.

Lee Valley sells it.

Paul

[newfinish]

Originally posted by justinc
try minwax bombay mahogany. Its nice and easy to apply, and I think exactly the color your looking for.

yes and wet your wood evenly before staining let it dry then apply your stain it soaks up more and very evenly has a more rich tone to it.
I know cause I sand floors for a living.
and an other trick is if you want to make your wood look vintage,old age,put FPC mix with water 2 to 1 ratio it gets the natural color more vivid on the wood makes it look very old oxidated aas if it was old.
FPS is the white crystal stuff you get the stains off ciment or pavement.

[bluemax]

Originally posted by newfinish


yes and wet your wood evenly before staining let it dry then apply your stain it soaks up more and very evenly has a more rich tone to it.
I know cause I sand floors for a living.
and an other trick is if you want to make your wood look vintage,old age,put FPC mix with water 2 to 1 ratio it gets the natural color more vivid on the wood makes it look very old oxidated aas if it was old.
FPS is the white crystal stuff you get the stains off ciment or pavement.

This may be worth a try if you're committed to using an oil stain, but keep in mind that wetting the wood will raise the grain, so be prepaired to do some finish sanding.

Wetting the wood prior to coloring relies on the "sponge" effect of cellulose. Empty cells and cavities in the wood expand to soak up water; force drying with heat (or even just keeping it in warm, dry place for a day or two) will evaporate the moisture in the cells, but the cells will stay expanded for a time after the water is gone. It's during this period oil or stain should be applied as it now has a much better chance of flowing deeper into the recesses of the wood.

The caution of using such a method is that you're changing the geometry of the finished workpiece, whether it be veneer or plank, the cell expansion is three dimensional. It both raises the grain of the wood and can make it expand laterally.

At the very least, you'll need to re-sand to some degree, at the worst, solid wood can develop cracks or loose joints or veneers may split or end up with edges that are no longer true. (remember on veneers, the wood will expand upon wetting, but the glue that's holding it on the mdf cabinet won't)

newfinish probably uses this method on hardwood floors that are being completely re-finished. Wetting will bring up the floor's wood grain along with all the deep seated stains the surface of the wood has absorbed over the years. The sanding then removes the stains as the wood is made flush and smooth again.

Wood floors are a good case in point.
Anytime you've ever stepped on a "squeaky spot" somewhere on a wood floor, odds are that moisture is the culpret; at some time, water got deep into the wood, caused expansion and eventually re-contracted, leaving the join looser than it was before.

This is why noisy floors are the quietest (sp?) during times of high humidity. Moisture in the air is absorbed by the wood, the individual wood pieces expand against each other and turn a once creaky floor into one that's tight as a drum. (at least until the sun comes out again).

~blue

[newfinish]

when I mean wetting the wood is not soaking it in a tub but just evenly moist it so it can absorb evenly,That's just if you cant or your not sure of being a good sander for very smalll surfaces and you dont want diferences in color.for a floor this IS the way to go.but for small surface and thin one to there other products like minwax that sell a prep stuff before you stain to apply so it absorbs evenly,but be prepare to use a darker color because it lets a bit less stain go in to the veins of the wood.
my 2 cents