Spots where stain didn't stick

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Spots where stain didn't stick

Postby Sam I am » Sat Sep 02, 2006 7:41 pm

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I hope this picture loaded. This is my first try at posting pics. I stained my countertop with acrylic stain, and the places where I used wood filler to cover screws didn't take the stain. The filler (Elmer's) is supposed to be stainable, it says. Any ideas on how I can fix this, short of sanding down the whole counter and starting over?
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Postby doug hodder » Sat Sep 02, 2006 7:54 pm

What a drag Sam....I've never had good luck with any filler that says "stainable"..just my experience however...if your top is solid wood and not veneered...you are going to have to sand it down at least to the point of getting all the blotch out of the surrounding area of the screw, use a flat block of wood with paper...not a sander...it'll come out uneven...it might be an idea to do that...pull the screws..redrill with a forstner bit (countersink larger) and reinstall the screws...and plug it with a wood plug...sand smooth and finish...it'll still show, but at least it's wood and not putty...if the screws are fairly uniform in spacing...just install some more plugs to help even out the look across the top, or put contrasting ones in as an artsy thing..... just an idea...Doug
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Postby Sam I am » Sat Sep 02, 2006 8:08 pm

Thanks, Doug. Those sound like good ideas. Right now, I just want to get the trailer finished so I can use it at least once before the weather gets cold. I'll probably let the counter go till next spring. I thought of trying thinned down brown paint applied with a small brush on the light spots, if I can match the stain color. Then fix it right later.
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Postby doug hodder » Sat Sep 02, 2006 8:23 pm

Sam...it's worked for me...I've got like a couple hundred of them in the deck on a boat that I built...in the meantime...just leave a cutting board on the counter top, or a strategically placed bottle of beer!!! :lol: doug
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Postby Larwyn » Sat Sep 02, 2006 9:39 pm

doug hodder wrote:Sam...it's worked for me...I've got like a couple hundred of them in the deck on a boat that I built...in the meantime...just leave a cutting board on the counter top, or a strategically placed bottle of beer!!! :lol: doug


Not just any beer, use Guinness, it's dark, will hide anything, if you have enough, you can even move the bottle and not notice.......... :lol: :lol:
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Postby halfdome, Danny » Sat Sep 02, 2006 10:29 pm

Sam I am, Try scraping the puttied area with a box cutting razor that has one edge. It's easy & safe to handle. I use one whenever I get a run or sag in the finish because sandpaper is slower and gums up the finish. Take your time and feather it out. Before refinishing it put your face down to the board and sight down it to see if you left any residue. That's the way I would do it, Danny
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Postby Miriam C. » Sat Sep 02, 2006 11:33 pm

Not a hijack
Anyone try cutting circles out of the iron on veneer edging, and using it for covering screws in thin ply.
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Postby Mary K » Sun Sep 03, 2006 12:21 am

Larwyn wrote:
doug hodder wrote:Sam...it's worked for me...I've got like a couple hundred of them in the deck on a boat that I built...in the meantime...just leave a cutting board on the counter top, or a strategically placed bottle of beer!!! :lol: doug


Not just any beer, use Guinness, it's dark, will hide anything, if you have enough, you can even move the bottle and not notice.......... :lol: :lol:


Larwyn, Like this??

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What trailer tongue??? :lol:

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Postby Boodro » Sun Sep 03, 2006 12:27 am

Sam , maybe you could just cover the counter top with a piece of 1/8 inch Oak , or whatever you like, glue it down with some brads to hold it then stain it . Just a thought , it won't add too much .
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Postby BigPolishJimmy » Sun Sep 03, 2006 7:28 am

You could try a furnature touch up crayon--or regular brown crayon--to blend the area and follow the wood grain, if it doesn't work you're talking about sanding it down anyway so nothing lost. I tried that with our old entertainment center where the dog had scratched off the faux grain, but that was just sawdust furnature and it didn't work. I also tried Old English and that didn't work either, nothing would stick to that junk. I ended up using brown marker but the finish wasn't nice like the piece you have going.

*edit* I didn't see Boodro's post above while I was typing... it's a much better suggestion for a quality look.
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Re: Spots where stain didn't stick

Postby kirtsjc » Sun Sep 03, 2006 8:23 am

Sam I am wrote:I stained my countertop with acrylic stain, and the places where I used wood filler to cover screws didn't take the stain. The filler (Elmer's) is supposed to be stainable, it says. Any ideas on how I can fix this, short of sanding down the whole counter and starting over?


I seem to remember very vaguely a thread here on T&TTT (or was it from a book I read?) about using sawdust saved from sanding and drilling on the piece in question (and from scraps).

Mix the sawdust saved with a good water-based glue (?) fill, sand, and then the stain should "take" as you have made your own filler from the species of wood you are using.

Failing that, instead of screwholes in the top, pretend that you are building a table top, or a house kitchen counter top, and do your screw attachment points from below where they will not be seen.

OR!!! go with a contrasting plug color and make the screw holes stand out in a pleasing manner.

A basic book on furniture building would have a lot of tips on how to do this...
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Postby Sam I am » Mon Sep 04, 2006 8:50 pm

Wow, what a wealth of good ideas! This forum is great for advice! I showed my wife the spots on the counter, and told her some of the ideas you guys had. She said "could you use shoe polish?" Hmm, I never thought of that! I found some ancient brown paste type polish and tried dabbing a little on the light spots. After several cycles of dab, wipe, sand off, try again, it came out useable, but not perfect. Good enough for now. I think I will overlay it with some veneer or thin ply later.
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Postby halfdome, Danny » Mon Sep 04, 2006 10:30 pm

Sam I am wrote:Wow, what a wealth of good ideas! This forum is great for advice! I showed my wife the spots on the counter, and told her some of the ideas you guys had. She said "could you use shoe polish?" Hmm, I never thought of that! I found some ancient brown paste type polish and tried dabbing a little on the light spots. After several cycles of dab, wipe, sand off, try again, it came out useable, but not perfect. Good enough for now. I think I will overlay it with some veneer or thin ply later.

In my younger years I took a scratched up Mahogany TV and used shoe polish to make it look good enough to sell, they never even noticed. Old English scratch Cover will do wonders to wood too. ;) Danny
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Postby Andy Ehle » Tue Sep 05, 2006 7:15 pm

Danny,
I am a cabinet maker (now. I used to do home remodel) I keep a big box of crayons in my tool box for filling holes and touching up any gaps in laminate seems. The big box has alot of colors.(

I also have used wood plus to hide screws. You can't really hide them so they disapear(sp?)so I like to use a contrasting wood plug to make it decorative.

I recently finished a bed (actually the trundle portion) for my mom. made out of clear yellow pine with walnut plugs to cover screws and as a decorative touch. I also used the same method to hide some screws in 2 blanket chests I made last christmasfor my dad and one of my brothers.
They wer made with yellow pine cases with red oak trim and walnut plugs they turned out great.

good luck
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Postby Andy Ehle » Tue Sep 05, 2006 8:27 pm

with only the screws covered
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with decorative plugs installed

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It now has 2 trays that sit on the oak divider that seperates the top and bottom portions of the trunk
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