Forget wood conditioner and go for gel stain.By Bob Flexner
Pages: 94-95
Issue #140, April 2004
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Youve heard me say this before, and Im sure youll hear me say it again: The worst single thing that can happen in wood finishing is blotching that is, uneven stain coloration caused by uneven densities in the wood. Blotching is the only problem that cant be fixed even by stripping and starting over; you have to sand or plane off as much as 181 cm of wood to get below the dark areas.
Blotching in woods like pine, spruce and fir is often quite unpleasant. In woods such as cherry, birch and soft maple, blotching is usually ugly but can be attractive. Blotching can be very attractive in woods like walnut, curly maples, birds eye maples and most burls. Woods such as oak, ash and mahogany dont tend to blotch.
Issue #140, April 2004
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