Larry Blanchard wrote:

And if you must change the color, as in matching an existing piece, dyes do a
much more blotch-free job than stains

Maybe. Darker colored dyes can and will will blotch, because the
component in a typical "stain" that blotches _is_ dye. Lighter colored
dyes appear not to blotch, mainly because there is less contrast in the
blotching. It's there, if you look closely!

The cause of blotching needs to be understood before we go forward. It
is simply uneven penetration of colored liquid, due to differing
densities of the wood.

The best way to move a light colored, blotch-prone wood, to medium to
dark tones without blotching is to control color penetration. This can
be done in several ways:

- Partially seal the surface with either a spit coat (very thin shellac
or clear finish compatible with the stain), or by applying a "natural"
stain first. This allows the extra porous wood to absorb less color, by
letting it absorb the clear product. This is how most common "Wood
Conditioners" work.

- Totally seal the wood, and apply the color as tinted clear coats
and/or pigments sitting on top of the wood. A light dye under all of
this will increase the apparent depth of the finish. Most factory
furniture is done this way. Minwax and most other home center and
hardware store brands of stains don't work all that well with this method.

- Use a gel stain, which controls penetration by using a thick binder
that simply won't soak in as much. Gel stains can still blotch, if the
stain is toward the darker end of the spectrum.


Practice on fully prepared scrap! G