Now that you mentioned it, the floor poly was a little thinner.Mistergreen, floor finishes usually have a bit more carrier (thinner) in them then a brush on finish. That allows the bubbles in the coat more time to disperse. Wipe on polys also have more thinner (carrier) in them then a brush on.
Wintu there are many good manufacturers. Minwax isn't one of them but it is readily available. And it is decent. Zinsser makes a good WB. Last year I went through over 7 gallons of it.
i assumed that a oil based stain would prevent the wood from absorbing spilled water, the whole oil and water not mixing thing. i have a little bit of the stain they used to make the original stand i am matching, maybe a pint at very most.I can't answer the poll because it depends.
Oil stains won't repel a thing. Neither will water stains.
Take this a bit further. Oil, water, dye or a pigment?
Use what you like. I use mostly oil stains because I am use to them. i like oil poly most of the time because I like the amber tint.
Someoldguy, not all polys darken the stain. Water based poly doesn't change the depth of color one bit. In some cases WB may in fact be found to be too stark. Minwax makes both WB and oil. Minwax is generally a consumer product and not used by pros. There are much better brands available.
The color may be tough to match. Was it a straight stain? A glaze? Was a coat of shellac laid down first then stain over that then poly?
What is the wood? The same stain appears different on different woods. Most softwoods require a conditioner to get a uniform color. Some hardwoods (like cherry) will also blotch without a conditioner. What was the final grit sanded too? Wood sanded to 220 will not absorb as much stain as wood only sanded to 150.
There's a lot of detective work involved in getting a match. Sometimes you get lucky though and you find a match quickly.
When you apply stain it doesn't matter how you put it on. With the grain, against the grain it matters not. How long you wait before you wipe it off will determine the color but only to a point. The finish coat is always with the grain.
3 coats is a bare minimum. The first coat starts to seal the grain. (I don't even bother sanding the first coat.) Second coat will start to build your film. Third coat covers your "holidays".
When applying a finish coat use a quality brush. Forget the foam brushes and the cheap "chip" brushes. The brush can make or break your top coat.
. what grit should i use to sand the coat, and how much sanding should i do?
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Graphicgr8s is right it will be a nightmare to try to stain your stand to match the other cabinet i would try to go for some contrastingThe stand your trying to match is stain over a sealer. That's generally how they get it so even. And it's actually sprayed on then lacquered. They can make a sheet of glass look like wood with the technique. The wood you're using looks like a softwood. Unless you first use a conditioner it will blotch. Not it may blotch it will.
150 is about all you need to sand to. Any further and it's just wasted time.
BTW I'd doubt you'll get it to match with a softwood.
If you want a great book on finishing get Understanding Wood Finishing. Bob Flexner.
Just a conditioner. You really don't need a sanding sealer. Don't wet it.i'm okay if it doesn't match exactly, I plan on having both stands in the same room when i move into my house (hopping thats sometime next year)and i want them to look similar, or as close as possible, or at the very least colored so they can be in the same room.
So i would need to hit the stand with a conditioner, then a sealer, and then stain it? okay so i'll stop at 150, i was reading on a couple of sites they suggested wetting the wood and doing a final sand to get all the little bits that would rise up when they get damp, do i still need to do this even though i'm putting on all of these other coats of stuff?
