Staining Anegre Evenly
When time is a factor, spraying a dye stain may be the best way to get even color on large anegre (anigre) panels. November 25, 2006
Question
Is there a product that stains anegre evenly? It should be left natural, but the customer doesn't want to hear that and as we all know, the customer is always right!
Forum Responses
(Finishing Forum)
From contributor R:
How familiar are you with staining wood? Can you give us an idea of what color you wish to go after and what staining mediums you're used to using?
From contributor G:
Try Becker's Arti. It can be used as spray stain or spray and wipe.
From the original questioner:
I use oil based stain. I have been doing this for awhile and am familiar with wood conditioners. This is a fast paced shop and I don't really have the time for conditioners to dry before staining. I use WoodWright easy wipe stain. Is there a better stain out there? I use a variety of colors, from honey color to the darkest brown.
From contributor M:
I would spray on a dye stain, either alcohol based ngr or water stain. If you want a little more depth to the darker figure, wipe it down good with a SW clear stain base concentrate (S64 series). You can wipe this on over either type of dye stain. Do some samples and see what you think.
From contributor J:
It sounds like you're probably a more experienced finisher than I am, but you may want to give this a shot. I just went through the same problem trying to stain some birch. I didn't want the extra steps of washcoating, etc., so I came up with something very simple through trial and error. I spray light coats of M.L. Campbell's Woodsong II stain, barely wetting the wood and just let it dry, no wiping. It is the most even staining I have ever gotten with birch, and is much faster with less steps involved. Give it a shot on a test piece and see if you can get the color you want.
From contributor R:
What color are you interested in staining the anegre? All types of coloring medium can stain woods evenly - you just have to know how to do it. Do you have access to solvent based dye stains and do you have a nice selection of UTC colors in your finishing department? Sometimes it takes more than a can opener to get the color you're interested in.
Try this - it looks good on anegre: Spray on some Perfect Brown dye stain cut with L/T. A few passes should work. One half hour later, wipe on an oil stain made with P/T and some Burnt Umber. Into a quart of P/T, put two heaping scoops of the Burnt Umber and stir like hell until the medium is completely dissolved. Wipe it on the anegre and let it sit for 5 minutes and then wipe it all off. Once it's dry, begin your finishing steps. What type of finishing coatings do you use?
From contributor M:
I wouldn't wipe an oil stain on anigre. Most designers select it for the rippled or fiddleback figure and wiping an oil stain will highlight the grain structure and partially obscure the fiddleback figure.
From the original questioner:
Thanks for all the great advice. The only problem I'm having is the panels can be up to 10 feet long, 5 feet wide. Four of those panels come together to form a conference table. There is one of me, so I would be nervous to spray stain and let it sit. I kind of have to move fast. Any advice on that? Right now I am using ML Campbell Magnamax, but thinking of switching over to Krystal for more of a full finish, at least for the conference tables.
From contributor M:
That's why spraying dye is so great. You just spray it on evenly and leave it. No wiping. So it should go really fast. Just spray with the grain and practice on some scrap if you haven't tried it before. Make samples before you start.
From the original questioner:
I will give that a try. Thanks!
From contributor W:
For the volume surface, spraying dyes is the only way to go, in my opinion. Requires a certain spray touch technique to get dye to lay down just right so there's no puddling. Good gun is necessary also. And I would use Krystal on these instead of Magnamax… But I would practice a bit on a scrap panel before actually spraying so you can get a feel for the output on gun.
