Wood Stains

[Raven 271]

I am currently constructing a stitch and glue kayak out of 4mm mahogany plywood.
I am going to stain the deck before glassing---------other than using an Interlux type
paste wood filler stain,what other options are there? Will a Minwax type stain fade to fast?
Anyone with any experience using alcohol or water stains?

[jason stumpf]

raven,
your alcohol based stain is most likely really a dye. in that case be careful, since most dyes tend to fade rapidly in sunlight. in general the oil based stains (which are pigment stains, not dye stains) will hold up quite well. also, be sure to use a varnish with a good UV blocker, since that is what does the fading...
jason

[Vindo Joe]

I've used several different stains on my mahogany cabin house ranging from paste filler to the oil based penetrating stains.

My most successfull work so far has been with Minwax Gel Stain. It goes on VERY evenly and has held its color well. The company recomends it for exterior door applications and I called them prior to using it. While they couldn't tell me the specific formulation, they did confirm that it was resistant to fading in the sun. I have it covered in seven coats of varnish with UV inhibitors and it's doing fine. I'll never be convinced to use anything else.

[Concordia..41]

Ditto for great results with the Minwax Gel - Also, because it is about the consistency of mayonnaise I often put a small glob of three different shades on a margarine tub top and like paint on a painter's pallet, mix just the varying colors I need. You can also mimic the grain using a small artist's brush.

You're not going to do a whole boat this way, but for disguising a repaired area or a small patch of putty, it'll make you stand back and say, "Dang, something worked for once!" :D

[ 04-20-2003, 02:18 PM: Message edited by: Concordia..41 ]

[Todd Bradshaw]

I really dislike the idea of using oil stain under epoxy and fiberglass. People do it, but to me it's just asking for bonding trouble. If you use it, be sure to wait a long time (like a couple weeks) for the stain to dry before you do any epoxy coating. Having had good results with both water and alcohol-based stains, I can't see any reason to risk it with oil based stuff. Analine dye (alcohol stain) can fade from sunlight, though I used it on my mahogany Star's topsides under WEST 105/207 and Captain's Varnish and it didn't fade it the six or seven years that I owned the boat. It sat outside, but was under a cover. I don't think I'd leave it out without one.

[John Blazy]

Ditto Todd. All I've read about epoxy over stain says to use waterbase stain thats not a dye. I used rosewood waterbased stain thinned in a little alchohol mixed with a bit of walnut dye stain and sprayed on my panels before stitching and epoxying. Dries very fast - even epoxy over it same day if lightly sprayed and wiped quick. The problem with oil based stains and epoxy is that oil dries so slowly, and will not only impede bonding, but also depth of epoxy penetration even if the surface appears dry. Pore filling is what I would be particularly concerned about with gel stains - waterbased or oil. You want the epoxy to fill the pores, not the stain.