Why would stain color look different on the same board?

3 years ago

DH stained a sample board, and the top half of the board ended up a beautiful warm brown, the other half half had a greenish hue to it. I thought it was just me with my uber-sensitivity to color, but he noticed the same thing. He used Old Masters wiping stain in Dark Walnut, and the corresponding satin topcoat.

So, we got into a bit of a row over staining (long story...), and I got to the point I just decided to take a stab at it myself. I bought the General Finishes water-based wood stain in Provencial. Same thing -- different color. Was the backside of the same board. I don't know how he prepped (part of the row...), but I used 100, 150, finished with 180 grit sandpaper, vacuumed off the board, then applied the stain. I haven't finished topcoating yet, but I can see a slight difference on this side of the board, too. It's not as noticeable as the other side, but there is a bit of a difference. Yes, I did mix very well before applying, not sure what he did.

How is this possible that the stain color has a different tone on the same board? Something with the wood?

Featured Answer

cat_ky

3 years ago

last modified: 3 years ago

You might try a wood conditioner on the wood, before you stain it. That sometimes helps even out the color. I prefer oil based stain over water based.

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Comments (10)

PRO
HALLETT & Co.
3 years ago
It’s the wood…
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porkchop_z5b_MI
Original Author
3 years ago
The Old Masters he used is oil-based; I used the water-based. Right now I've got two coats of top coat on, and the tone difference on my board seems to have pretty much disappeared -- it's there but that part of the board just looks a little lighter rather than a different tone, and it's in a straight line right across the board -- top half/bottom half. It's weird.
cat_ky
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Oil based stain, gives more depth to the stain job, than water based does, and thats why it is my preference. However, some wood, needs a conditioner, to even the color tones out. You are not saying what kind of wood, your board you are trying stain on its. If its pine, or fir, etc, it definitely needs a conditioner first.
porkchop_z5b_MI
Original Author
3 years ago
It is red oak.
bry911
3 years ago
“it's in a straight line right across the board -- top half/bottom half. It's weird.”

Can you get a picture of the board? What I am visualising may be incorrect.
porkchop_z5b_MI
Original Author
3 years ago
Hopefully the camera captured it (pen marks the spot). The weird thing is the difference in tone on the flip side of the board that DH did -- so it's not that I had a line of demarcation where I maybe applied the stain a little thicker. I can also see a slight difference in tone on my side, the lighter end looks a tinge greener to my eye IRL.

I've moved onto another sample board that DH mechanically distressed (which is what our trim and doors will be) -- I'm not done with that board yet, but the stain came out very nice and on that sample piece, no wonky different tones. It is all red oak.
Fori
3 years ago
That's weird. I wonder if your board wasn't actually clean.

I don't see green but it looks like a pretty straight line of color change that has nothing to do with the grain of the wood.
bry911
3 years ago
There are several reasons this can happen and they are typically caused by the board itself rather than the finishing process.

If the board was stored in partial sunlight for an extended period of time after being dimensioned the board can essentially respond to sanding differently. This would likely disappear with aggressive sanding as only the cellular structure on the board's surface is degraded with sunlight.

The board could also have been partially compressed when in storage. If a lot of weight is placed on a board with little surface area to distribute the load, the cellular structure in the wood can compress and even after dimensioning will have a tighter cellular structure and accept stain differently.

There could also be different moisture content in the wood, this would only happen if the wood was strapped or banded at that spot and the strapping restricted the moisture flow through the open cells of the board. This is essentially like constricting a straw.

At any rate, the best solution is to get a different board.

Sorry for the late response... it is a busy time of the year for me.
porkchop_z5b_MI
Original Author
3 years ago
^^ That is interesting. Appreciate the detailed explanation.

I am relieved it is not the finishing; I didn't think it was but good to have that affirmed.

I moved onto a couple other boards (distressed texture). The first one looked fantastic until I over-sanded between coats of poly and jacked it up, I think I sanded off the stain in sections. GGRRRHHH!!! Board #2 is currently top coated with coat #1 and resting/thoroughly drying before I attempt sanding and coat #2. I'm kinda gun shy about it now but hopefully with an uber-light touch it will be fine -- the finish on my first board (photo above) came out great so we'll see....