Stain changed colors

Hate to ask to obvious, but did you stir the stain both times? The oil based stain pigments settle out aand could cause this to happen.

-- Lew- Time traveler. Purveyor of the Universe's finest custom rolling pins.

lew is right if the pigments seperate and you don’t mix it again you get different colors.

-- Roper - Master of sawdust- www.roperwoodturning.com

I did mix them both times. I guess I could have not mixed it well enough. I have already thought about this and wasn’t sure if this was something that just happens sometimes with Minwax.

-- T. Nelson

that or sanding to the same grit. normally that only affects the depth of color rather then the color its self. I have used the minwax conditioner and it helps on some woods, though if you forget on one piece it will come out much darker (don’t ask how I know that) it keeps one piece of wood from absorbing more stain than another

-- Fred, Springfield, Ma

There may be a couple of things happening. First, what type of wood are you useing? Some woods react with sun and or light and begin to turn color naturally. such as Padauk and Cherry. 3 days don’t sound like enough time for this option. Could be diffence in grain direction, but I dont’ think this is likely as well.

Second, were you using any other products in the same area? Using a product such as WD-40 from an areosol can can sometimes leave a resude on peices near by from overspray (this happen to me before.)

If you used a stain, not a dye. the color should be fairly shallow in the wood. you should be able to sand off down to the same grit and restain. If you used a dye, it will take a bit more work.

-- Greg - Charles Town, WV

Other than frequently stirring your stain:

• Is the grain and cut of the wood consistent?
• Did you prep all the wood the same way, especially using the same sandpaper grit?
• Did you precondition the wood with a sealer?
• Did you use exactly the same technique on all parts?
• Did you test the stain and your process on some scrap wood from the same project?
• Did you follow the directions for the stain?

Just some thoughts…

-- 温故知新

I see alot of the points that your all making.

There wasn’t anything even close to it that could contaminate the stain.
Its is all the same type of wood bought at the same store at the same time.
No Preconditioner.
Same techniques throught the entire process from cut to finish.

Maybe I need to eat this one up as not properly mixing the stain each time.

-- T. Nelson