Staining a mid century table

[garlanre]

Hi,
I have a midcentury table by Paul McCobb that I think is birch. I stripped the top and I want to stain it to give it back its darker, older-looking patina. But birch absorbs stain unevenly. Is there any product I can put on to prepare the birch wood to absorb the stain evenly? And what color stain will make the wood a warmer, darker color? It would be nice if I could match the legs, but I understand that might not be possible. I've tried golden oak in the past, but it's still very light. Any advice?

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[Bob Boardman]

Apply a coat of a product called Sealcoat. It dries in about 30 mins. Then light sand with a 120 grit paper and apply stain. I'd test stains by prepping the underside of table the aame as the top. If using Minwax stains try a colonial maple or special walnut

[garlanre]

Thank you, Bob. I know I've got some Sealcoat around here somewhere. I'll send you finished pics when I'm done.

[garlanre]

I goofed. I put the sealcoat on the table as you suggested and then followed up with a coat of Minwax cherrywood gel stain. I liked the reddish tint, and I figured I could put something darker over it if I didn't like it. The stain went on nice and even. Sealcoat is a great product. But unfortunately, it came out too light. At first I didn't see this as a problem. I decided to put a coat of special walnut over it. Imagine my disappointment when I discovered that the wood is saturated and won't take any more stain. I guess the operative word in sealcoat is "seal." Now what? Should I sand it all down again? Or maybe I could make up some sort of paint/stain mixture (maybe special walnut with some brown oil-based paint thrown in??) that would adhere but still show the grain. Or maybe I should just strip the legs and stain them to match and pretend I intended that color all along. If the table hadn't been made by Paul McCobb, a famous mid-century designer, I'd probably resort to the third option. Maybe I will anyway. Any suggestions?

[Bob Boardman]

When you seal wood, and then apply stain, if you don;t like the color, you can wipe it off before it dries. In this case, it's dried. I'd try wiping down with lacquer thinner. This often will remove freshly dried oil base stain. Let us know how things come out

[preeng2]

You can put another coat of gel stain in a darker color over the top. The gel stain will act as a glaze and you can wipe as much off as you like to get the darkness you desire. Between the SealCoat and the gel stain, you have pretty much sealed the wood, however you can use more gel stain over it. I would put a coat of SealCoat over what you have done and then follow up with an application or two if needed, with a darker gel stain. Depending on the topcoat you will be using, you may want to apply another coat of SealCoat over the darker gel stain before the final applications of your topcoat.

[Bob Boardman]

Good post Preeng2