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Wood Stain

post #1 of 14
4/30/11 at 6:47am
Thread Starter 
The theater should be ready for stain this week. I was advised not to use a glossy stain on the wood that borders the screen. Can I do the rest of the room with normal glossy wood stain?


Thanks,
Jim
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post #2 of 14
4/30/11 at 7:10am
My understanding is it's just a matter of preference. If you want the totally immersive effect when the lights go down, then you want to limit the amount of reflective surfaces in the room. The thought being that light from anywhere other than the screen will be a distraction.

If you prefer a more social atmosphere and are not as concerned with getting total immersion in the movie, then you may be willing to have a few more reflective surfaces in the name of aesthetics.

It really is up to you!
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post #3 of 14
4/30/11 at 7:31am
Avoid glossy on any surface between you and the screen. The reflections can be very distracting. It would help if we saw a Picture.
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post #4 of 14
4/30/11 at 8:30am
trek737,

Two comments :

- I "2nd" Big's opinion go with satin.

- Also be aware that many of the Minwax stains (and other brands as well) contain a sealer. Not a good thing if you want to apply a 2nd coat of stain to adjust the "color" or to darken the finish. To make sure you have flexibility; go with a stain only product and add a separate finish "sealer" product.
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post #5 of 14
4/30/11 at 10:50am
After using water and oil based stain for wood staining, I was never satisfied with the stain. I would see professional stain work and stained wood at furniture stores which always looked much better than oil or water based stain.

A professional cabinet maker advised me that he always used analine dye which is actually water based and is a dye and not a stain. It does penetrate the wood and does not lay on top of the wood.

You cannot find aniline dye at Lowes or Sherwin Williams etc. Woodcraft is the onlly place that sells it in our area and is also available at professional on line sites. Clean up is the best.

You will never use stain again. It is idiot proof and will beautify the grain. Furniture companies usually use aniline dye
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post #6 of 14
4/30/11 at 3:40pm
I certainly intend to follow Big's advice when I get around to building my theater, but I thought it was worth pointing out that it really depends on what you like. You know, boogers are good if you like that sort of thing

This theater is an example. I think the colors and lighting look great, but I think the A/V rack on the left and the panel with the brushed metal at the right would be distracting during a movie. You just have to decide what is most important to you. Aesthetics or functionality.

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post #7 of 14
5/1/11 at 5:27am
Thread Starter 
Photos show theater before being stained. All four walls have wood from floor to ceiling with acoustic panels in the middle. I have taken a picture of the front door of my house to show the gloss on that piece of stained wood. You can see some glare from the flash taken with my phone camera and several shots I took I could see my reflection. I believe but I am not 100% that the front door is oak, the theater wood is maple. We may not pick that particular color of stain but it will be towards the darker side rather than the blond stain look. The stainer says he can mix several colors together to get the color we want.

I want the room to look good and rich with the wood work, but do not want to see reflections in the wood from the projection light reflecting off the screen and creating glare on the walls when the theater lights are off and the movie is playing. I want to see the walls as little as possible when I am viewing the screen. I realize that bright scenes will light up the room to a certain extent but if I am getting glare bouncing off the walls that is not desirable.

i was told by a theater consultant that just put flat stain finish on the wood that comes out from the screen... the 6"s on the sides and bottom that frame the screen. That works for me but I would not want to stain the walls with a gloss finish and find out when I start the movie that I see light glaring off from it.

So what is best to use to get a rich look and no glare on the walls from the projector?
LL
LL
LL
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post #8 of 14
5/1/11 at 6:00am
IMHO, the sheen doesn't really add to the "rich" look of the finished wood. If the wood has a good figure, then you may want to apply a finish that "pops" the grain and give the wood some visual depth. Darker colors also give a richer appearance, again, IMHO. There are countless different ways to do this, every finisher has their preferred method. Also, because this area will not likely see water, you are not limited to Poly as a top coat, so you really are free to choose. the finishing method that gives you the color/sheen that you like.

I think your best bet is to take some scrap pieces as do some tests. Try different finished techniques on several different pieces that you can compare side-by-side. Take them to the theater and compare in the appropriate lighting. But according to your post, you should limit yourself to low sheen finishes.
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post #9 of 14
5/1/11 at 6:52am
Is that third picture the door you were talking about? Doesn't look like oak to me. Looks like Hickory or Pine.

Keep in mind that pigment stains will highlight grain, by settling into the pores of the wood and making more of a contrast between the two. Dye and dye stains will color the wood (as opposed to the grain), and leave a more even appearance. If your wood is maple, this may not be as noticeable, since maple has a very tight grain pattern.

Stain does not have a sheen, per se. Stain is for coloring the wood. Other top coat products (Oil, varnish, polyurethane, etc.) provide protection and luster. Unless, of course, you are using a one-step product. Minwax Polyshades comes to mind. Don't do it. If you want a rich look, color the wood (or use a wood that is already the color you want, like walnut or mahogany) and then use a finish product to seal it, protect it, and provide some depth.
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post #10 of 14
5/1/11 at 8:31am
You should always experiment on scrap pieces of wood leftover from the construction. I'm thinking you might like a hand rubbed Watco Danish oil finish because it tends not to be shiny.
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post #11 of 14
12/8/12 at 8:07pm
Is it possible to mix different types of wood and have the stain match? Considering mixing pine & poplar, but on scraps they take stain so differently that I'm not sure if it's possible to get them to look the same color.
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post #12 of 14
12/8/12 at 9:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bjvjs View Post

After using water and oil based stain for wood staining, I was never satisfied with the stain. I would see professional stain work and stained wood at furniture stores which always looked much better than oil or water based stain.


A professional cabinet maker advised me that he always used analine dye which is actually water based and is a dye and not a stain. It does penetrate the wood and does not lay on top of the wood.


You cannot find aniline dye at Lowes or Sherwin Williams etc. Woodcraft is the onlly place that sells it in our area and is also available at professional on line sites. Clean up is the best.


You will never use stain again. It is idiot proof and will beautify the grain. Furniture companies usually use aniline dye

I use dyes regularly and IMO you will not find a finer dye than TransFast powder dyes.

You can find them here http://www.homesteadfinishingproducts.com/htdocs/TransFastdyes.htm
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post #13 of 14
12/9/12 at 5:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by rabident View Post

Is it possible to mix different types of wood and have the stain match? Considering mixing pine & poplar, but on scraps they take stain so differently that I'm not sure if it's possible to get them to look the same color.

To do this type of finishing you need to put a bleach or toner coat down first, this is not very easy at all - The factories started this almost a century ago to be able to mix expensive woods and veneers together to cut down over-all cost.It was in high fashion during the 40's till the late 80's then started to not be used as much or often. It requires a deft hand at spraying and the right mix of pigmented material to really pull it off without the piece looking painted. I would not do a project this way unless you have done many samples with varying pieces trying differnt mixes of pigmented finsh and thicknesses, Of course this is just my opinion.
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post #14 of 14
12/9/12 at 6:13am
I am no finishing expert, but from what I have learned over the years.. poplar is not a wood that you want to be staining. It's a paint grade wood. I am sure if you have a lot of wood finishing under your belt, you could stain poplar by sealing it with an opaque coat of.. something.. (toner coat as Dave said, I guess?).

FWIW I've ordered from the site Dave recommends, Homestead, and they're great. You get to talk to real people.

Tim
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