# staining maple handrail



## centralalbertapaint (Jun 30, 2015)

I have a new handrail to stain, the lumber is maple, what is the best way to tackle this project?


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## Gough (Nov 24, 2010)

centralalbertapaint said:


> I have a new handrail to stain, the lumber is maple, what is the best way to tackle this project?


Was coat of de-waxed shellac; sand with #320 grit; stain with oil-based stain (we prefer gel stain); finish with 2-3 coats of oil-based polyurethane.


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## Andyman (Feb 21, 2009)

What's the dewaxed shellac about?


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## Gough (Nov 24, 2010)

Andyman said:


> What's the dewaxed shellac about?


Stain controller, the wash coat of shellac reduces blotching in woods prone to it.

I've found the shellac to be more reliable than the other conditioners that we've tried.


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

Gough said:


> Stain controller, the wash coat of shellac reduces blotching in woods prone to it.
> 
> I've found the shellac to be more reliable than the other conditioners that we've tried.


Good tip. I will have to try that since I too have been disappointed with the conditioners I have tried recently.


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## centralalbertapaint (Jun 30, 2015)

I have noticed in the past that the maple does not like to take the stain, will the shellac help with this?


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## Gough (Nov 24, 2010)

centralalbertapaint said:


> I have noticed in the past that the maple does not like to take the stain, will the shellac help with this?


We've had better luck with gel stains in that regard.

For really dark colors on maple, starting with an application of water-soluble aniline dye is one approach that has worked for us. Especially with highly figured or curly maple.


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## Andyman (Feb 21, 2009)

Gough said:


> Stain controller, the wash coat of shellac reduces blotching in woods prone to it.
> 
> 
> 
> I've found the shellac to be more reliable than the other conditioners that we've tried.



Can it be used on all woods? And under all stains?


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## Gough (Nov 24, 2010)

Andyman said:


> Can it be used on all woods? And under all stains?


We use it on blotch-prone woods: pine, tulip poplar, maple, birch, etc.

Haven't tried it under water-borne stains, so I can't speak to that.


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## woodcoyote (Dec 30, 2012)

Shellac washcoat will work with water based stains. 

I use waterbased washcoats almost exclusively, just takes a bit to get use to.


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## DeanV (Apr 18, 2007)

When I use shellac as a wash coat, IIRC, I ended up cutting SealCoat in half with alcohol and applied that. Straight out of the can, it seals it too much.


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## Gough (Nov 24, 2010)

DeanV said:


> When I use shellac as a wash coat, IIRC, I ended up cutting SealCoat in half with alcohol and applied that. Straight out of the can, it seals it too much.


I think Rustoleum suggests 3 parts dETOH/2 parts Seal Coat, but we've sometimes used 1:1 as well. In either case, it's faster and easier than when we used to have to wait for shellac flakes to dissolve in solvent and then wait even longer for the wax to separate.


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## Andyman (Feb 21, 2009)

Gough said:


> We use it on blotch-prone woods: pine, tulip poplar, maple, birch, etc.
> 
> 
> 
> Haven't tried it under water-borne stains, so I can't speak to that.



So you cut dewaxed shellac and use it as a conditioner. How is it different than pre-made conditioner? And why make your own? 

I'm wanting to expand my stain knowledge so that's why I have so many questions.


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## Gough (Nov 24, 2010)

Andyman said:


> So you cut dewaxed shellac and use it as a conditioner. How is it different than pre-made conditioner? And why make your own?
> 
> I'm wanting to expand my stain knowledge so that's why I have so many questions.


Like DeanV, we use Zinnser SealCoat to start. 

Unlike pre-made conditioners, there not a narrow window for applying the stain. It dries quickly, then it can be sanded and stained any time after that. This is especially handy in production situations.

The sanded wash coat also improve the quality of the topcoats that follow.


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## [email protected] (Mar 1, 2008)

If it is hard maple I would go with a dye its pigments is finer and will get into the wood pours better. Then your favorite clear coat. A lot of oil stains will wipe right off. Haven't work that much with gel stains.


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