stain over poly

[Keye]

Will oil base stain work over oil base poly. Not something I would do for myself but the alternative is make another coffee table. My son thinks the table does not go with his newly installed flooring.

 

[mdbuntyn]

I'm not sure about conventional stain, but you can use a gel stain over top coats

 

[Bas]

Will oil base stain work over oil base poly. Not something I would do for myself but the alternative is make another coffee table. My son thinks the table does not go with his newly installed flooring.

I have never tried it, but obviously the stain would have difficulty penetrating the top coat and you may not see any change in color. A better option might be to sand the table and top coat with more poly with a dye added to it. The only downside is that any kind of damage to the table will show a difference in color, since the color is "on top of" the wood, not "in" the wood.

 

[Phil S]

a glaze will work

 

[Brian Patterson]

I have never tried it, but obviously the stain would have difficulty penetrating the top coat and you may not see any change in color. A better option might be to sand the table and top coat with more poly with a dye added to it. The only downside is that any kind of damage to the table will show a difference in color, since the color is "on top of" the wood, not "in" the wood.

Would a preliminary thin coat of poly after sanding act as a sealer and provide a more consistent dyed poly application. That is a good idea too, Bas. I never would have come up with such an obvious solution.

 

[Bas]

Would a preliminary thin coat of poly after sanding act as a sealer and provide a more consistent dyed poly application. That is a good idea too, Bas. I never would have come up with such an obvious solution.

It's common to apply a thin coat of dewaxed shellac prior to staining with wood that is prone to blotching. The idea is that the porous areas will absorb more of the finish, so that when you apply the stain things will even out. I don't think polyurethane would be a great choice because you want to make sure the stain adheres properly. Dewaxed shellac is sort of the O negative of finishes, it's compatible with just about everything. There are many different chemical formulations for both stain and polyurethane, so you'd need to test for that. Having said that, oil-based over oil-based would probably work.

Dyes are different than stain of course. I've not really had major blotching/ color variance issues with dyes, but that's because I usually add the dye to the topcoat (shellac, lacquer, poly, etc.). Essentially, the top coat is acting as a seal coat at the same time. If you apply the dye by itself (e.g/ dissolved in water), you may have more issues.

As Howard Acheson used to say, there is no substitute for testing your finishing schedule on some scrap first, prepared/ sanded the same was as your work piece.

 

[jlwest]

Some poly comes with a tint added. Might be able to to add a coat over what you have.

 

[Keye]

thanks for the help