We are staining the chair rails we want to put up in our new nursery. The chair rails are made of pine and we used a stain called Golden Oak. My husband sanded, applied wood conditioner and then applied the stain per the instructions on the cans. However, the wood is now very blotchy and some boards turned out blotchier than others. We really don't understand how this happened since we did exactly as the instructions said so now we just don't know what to do. So we have 3 questions:

Is there anyway to fix the stain at this point?

Should we forget the stain and just try to paint the chair rails now?

If we try to fix it and apply the poly, would we still be able to paint it afterwards if it doesn't turn out well?

Thanks for any responses. We really want to make them look nice.

L

Pine is a very soft wood, thus making it difficult to stain uniformly. It is more important to follow the directions to the pre-stain conditioner than the stain. You could try to restain the chair rail... apply it liberally and leave it on the wood for about 15 minutes. Wipe off any excess stain with a clean cloth.

You should not polyurethane the wood if you are not pleased with the stain blotching. Try another coat of stain... if that doesn't work, you may need to start over with a fresh piece. You could also sand the blotchy parts and re-stain that particular section. This may not be a good option depending on how intricate the chair rail is.

You may want to switch your wood. A harder wood stains nicer... looks nicer, but is more expensive.

Are the blotches linear, random? Do they seem like they are from the milling of the wood?

There are, more often, poor pieces of pine distributed in home improvement centers. I will typically paint pine and stick to other woods for stain. Inspect your wood thoroughly prior to purchasing it.

Starting with a new piece of pine... prepare by sanding lightly to remove any burrs or slight imperfections. Apply the pre-stain conditioner and let sit for 30-45 minutes. Remove any excess conditioner. Apply stain liberally. Let set for 15 minutes... longer if you want a deeper color... you may add more stain when it is still wet and let it sit longer. Make sure the excess does not dry... this can be repeated until the shade is achieved. Wipe off excess stain... lightly... do not rub, go in one direction... lightly with a terry shop towel... just to remove any areas that have noticeably darker or wet spots. Let dry for 24 hours. You can re-stain again if desired. Then apply polyurethane...

Pine is soft I would first try sanding with say a 100 grit paper to try to level out the finish then sand with good say 220 grit to smooth surface keep in mind not trying to remove all the stain just level it out a bit. Then reapply stain only using a soft clean rag. Wipe the stain on then wait a couple of minutes and lighly wipe of any excess . Try to go in one direction. If you like the finish then urethane but do not urethane until you get the finish you deire. GOOD LUCK, AC

You can paint it no matter what. The biggest problem with staining ANY wood is the finesse of applying the stain.
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Never let Any stain sit on any wood. That's how this problem arises more in the first place.

Use a rag ( I like an old white sock easy to dip in can ) and wipe on the stain gradually. Its all about control. Some ares needs to be rubbed on more then others areas. You are Staining not coating. Darkens areas can be lightened up with 0 steel wool or 00 steel wool. The wood will suck in differently in areas. The other secret is how "Tight" the wood grain is from prep sanding.

If you do this again and want furniture finish quality here's the steps.
1. Sand down with fine sandpaper. Blow off dust.
To apply stain use sock dipping in can ( Stir can with Stick and check bottom of can for separation of stain to liquid) Its not paint.
2. Let dry, use 00 steel wool to sand down the raised grain.
3. Use a "tack rag" ( in stores) and tack off all the dust.
4. Use a spar urethane for the finish. Pour a small amount of urethane into a clean can. Dip out of that to apply first coat. Use a Good brush for this. You may need to add a very Small amount of mineral spirits to thin out urethane for a smoother spread. Let dry.
5. After that coat use a 00 steel wool to dull finish of first coat. Wipe off and a clean tack rag to get all dust off wood. Now apply last coat of urethane. Keep in mind any particles in the brush from the first coat left in the brush will contaminate the last coat. This is also why I said pour out of original can into another in can so you won't contaminate the original can with small particle's of dust.

21 is right when I said a couple of minutes I wasn't thinking 2 minutes they way I stain on new pine stock is to rub the stain inas I go then when I get to the end of a piece or a section I wipe back over it lightly with clean rag. It works for me.

I hate using the pre-stain conditioner, I find that more often then not, that causes the blotching when you stain.

Instead of pre-stain, use plain old water. Moisten a rag, rub it on the wood, allow it to dry, sand with 220 then repeat. Do this until no more "bumps" come up.

Then you're ready to stain.

I use a sponge, wipe on, wait a minute, wipe off in circular motions. If it's not dark enough then recoat after allowing the first coat to dry. I always use a water based stain as it works better with pine.

I would sand down what you did and start from scratch.

Good luck. :)

Good steps list 21 was going to give a greenie but it won't let me!

As everyone has stated pine is not a good wood to try to stain. Not because it's a soft wood but because some areas are softer or more pores than others.
If you used a wiping stain you can remove it with mineral spirts. You can also remove it by applying more stain then immediately wiping it. The carrier for wiping stains is primarily mineral spirts. That's why applying a second coat won't darken the stain. The mineral spirts in the stain simply reactivates the dried pigments and you end up back where you started.

If you used a stain and finish combination, get the paint brush. The "finish" sealed the wood and no more stain can penetrate. Nor will any solvent penitrate to remove it. The only way to remove the stain/finish is to sand. Some paint strippers may remove it. Chair rail is not expensive enough to warrant that much work in my opinion.

If you really want to stain pine get a small compressor and a cheap spray gun. Spray a light coat, a very light coat. Let it dry for about 30 minutes then spray another coat. As you progress you will have some idea of what the final look will be. The finish material will darken its appearance slightly so stop the staining the just before you have the look or amount of stain you want.

When brushing or wiping the stain on and then wiping the excess off, the wood controls the amount of stain. When sprayed on you control the amount of stain that is applied. And that amount will be consistent, regardless of the texture of the wood.

Just ain't no other way, the preconditioners and other things may help mediate the blotching, which is really just uneven staining, but will not eliminate it.

I use pine a lot, I've always been able to darken the stain by reapplying. Of course I don't use the pre-stain, which makes a big difference.

I find that the pre-stain doesn't allow the wood to absorb the stain, water does.

Pine can be stained evenly, but you have to be careful, apply the proper amount of stain and not wait too long to wipe it off.

Making sure that you sand the pine smooth before applying also helps. I usually start with 100 grit sandpaper, move up to 120, then 150 then 220. Then I apply the water, dry, resand with 220, and then repeat until no more "bumps" of wood pop up.

The water absorbs into the wood, the pre-stain seems to clog the wood, not allowing it to accept stain as well.

I've been making wood furniture for a few years now, I sell my pieces, I usually use pine and I've had no problems with blotching or not achieving the color I want.

Just saying. :)

You sand the wood not to only make it smooth but the real reason is to tighten up the grain "Clogging" the pours to even out the absorption rate for staining, Or clear coating, again absorption
Wood is so porous that water or stain absorbs the same. Never had problems staining the Miles upon Miles of trim over the past 30 years or the furniture we used to buy refinish and sell. The Wetter the wood the more the grain raises. The opposite of what you want in finishing off a piece of wood. The irony is the more you sand the wood the more you tighten up the wood or clogging up the pours so it accepts stain more evenly.

I used that for a job site once and almost had to throw away the door. Mineral spirits saved it while it was still wet. It's a Paint application. As A professional finisher I think it should be taken off the shelfs. You can't control any Hues in the wood

The only way that works is the wood has to be so perfect in grain density for absorption. Hard woods work but never pine. Its getting back to spray painting not staining. Again is the harder grain that's tighter in density

I use and stain pine a lot and sounds as if too long a period was left before wiping off or too many pieces were stained at one time, the easiest way to go about evening out the blotchyness is to wipe the piece with a rag dampened in paint thinner or if more aggressive use steel wool soaked in thinner... if needed then re-stain one piece at a time let dry and use PARKS PRO Poly a lot better than MIN-WAX