Consistent Tint with a Waterbased Stain

A finisher struggles with shade variations on a set of oak doors. Colleagues suggest ways to solve the problem. August 9, 2005

Question
I am having a problem matching a sample consistently for a customer. I am staining oak doors for a high end kitchen with water based Lockwood ebony. I am having a problem matching all of the panels. Some come out a half shade lighter, and some darker. Is it possible to apply more water based stain after the lacquer sealer coat to tint as needed? Any help is appreciated.

Forum Responses
(Finishing Forum)
From contributor M:
You need to first apply a sealer to prevent the stain from penetrating into the woods. A few light wash coats of either your sealer or clear coat, or a glue sizing made from white glue and water, or a wipe on oil finish, will all work.

Allow these sealers to dry, and then apply your stain. You will need to make up samples to see the final color once you have clear coated the samples. In most cases, you may need to adjust the color darker, but you never know until you clear coat. These sealers are also used to prevent or reduce blotching.

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From contributor M:
Another option you could try is to add some of the Lockwood colorant into you coating, and make up a shading stain, and then blend in the doors. Do some testing before you try it on the doors.

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From contributor B:
You certainly can glaze over your doors. I use Lockwood dyes almost exclusively. If I seal it and I don't like the color after sanding, I’ll use my dye as I would a glaze. Then I repeat as necessary. Be careful to wipe it off evenly.