Dark finish for pine

Hi Guys,

I'm still very much amateur with woodworking, especially when it comes to finishes, so please bear with me...

I'm building a new cabinet out of pine and plywood for our bathroom sink, since the old mdf one that came with the house has swollen from water and is coming apart. I want to finish the wood in an almost black/very dark brown colour to match the mirror cabinet above it (or at least get close).

I'm not sure what finish to use for it. I have applied an Indonesian Teak stain to a scrap piece of the plywood, and it is not even close to the colour I want. The brochures and bottle have a very dark, almost black colour, and my plywood has somewhat of a brown/purple tint to it.

Should I consider going with paint instead? I would like the finish to still have the wood grain to it, as with the other cabinet already in this style.

Here's a picture of the cabinet with the finish I want to copy. (I understand this finish is manufactured in this way and is probably some kind of veneer)

Attachment 367681

Thanks!

To me the example of the cabinet looks almost black.

Not knowing what is available in South Africa and my thinking that teak is generally ranging in colour from light brown to a darkish brown it might never match your current cabinet.

As you have already purchased the stain it might be worth looking to adding a dye to your existing stain. Pour off a little in a jar and add a black dye one drop at a time then do a test. As an example I have used black dye with epoxy to fill holes and knots. Add too much dye and it pretty much is a solid colour. :doh:

Thanks!

I think adding the black dye to the current one might be a good option, as it will then give a bit of a brown undertone which is what I want.

The reason I haven't gone with an ebony/black stain is that I used a gel version of it in the past to build some speaker stands for my home theater system, and it didn't turn out that well.

I can relate as sometimes stains can be a little bit of a hit and miss especially if you are trying to match an existing piece.



Forgot to mention to ensure that the dye you use is able comparable to your current stain or it will not mix.

Are Feast Watson products available in South Africa?

If they are then you need to use a spirit stain called Prooftint black. I read that you are using pine, it is notorious for blotching. What ever you use you will need to seal the pine first to avoid a blotchy finish to your stain. Again, Feast Watson Proofseal will prepare the surface for even staining.

Hope it helps you out.

Ifvyou want a BLACK black ... that would satisfy Eric Olthwait .... there are a couple of options.

Black Nitro ( known pretty much world wide as GM flat black) will work very much like an ink on timber if thinnned before spraying .... a couple of coats then clear nitro over.
If you don't have access to laquers and spray gear.

Black stain or wood dye will give you a good black that you can clear over.

OR

there are tinited polyeurathanes that will give more colour the more you apply.

of course remember if staining you can apply multiple coats till you get the depth you want.

Or a combination of stain and tinted top coats.

cheers

Hi Ghecko,Rather than staining or painting you could buy boards already coloured like the wenge formica that is quite dark.
Have a look at African Wenge Formica 3660 x 1300 - Boardmaster
The company is based in Robertsham,Johannesburg.

Christos (#2) got it right = add oil-base dye to get the color you need.

Years ago, I found out that such stuff is commonly used for painting backdrops/scenery for stage productions.
I never bought any but did use another guy's kit when he ran out of time. It isn't artists' oil paints at all.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by soundman

Ifvyou want a BLACK black ... that would satisfy Eric Olthwait .... there are a couple of options.

Black Nitro ( known pretty much world wide as GM flat black) will work very much like an ink on timber if thinnned before spraying .... a couple of coats then clear nitro over.
If you don't have access to laquers and spray gear.

Black stain or wood dye will give you a good black that you can clear over.

OR

there are tinited polyeurathanes that will give more colour the more you apply.

of course remember if staining you can apply multiple coats till you get the depth you want.

Or a combination of stain and tinted top coats.

cheers

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Thanks! I bought myself a polyurethane sealer and added an ebony stain to it. I've only applied one coat to a plywood board so far and the result is quite disappointing, since I got an almost perfect result by rather using a black gel stain (which I had trouble with in the past), and then adding a sealer over it.

I'm still going to add some layers to see how dark it will actually get, but so far the gel one gives me the best result. Only problem is I would need to buy a LOT of gel stain bottles since they only come in 250ml bottles.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mark david

Hi Ghecko,Rather than staining or painting you could buy boards already coloured like the wenge formica that is quite dark.
Have a look at African Wenge Formica 3660 x 1300 - Boardmaster
The company is based in Robertsham,Johannesburg.

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I looked the name up and I could find one company that were using the products, but I wasn't able to get hold of them to see if I can buy from them.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Robson Valley

Christos (#2) got it right = add oil-base dye to get the color you need.

Years ago, I found out that such stuff is commonly used for painting backdrops/scenery for stage productions.
I never bought any but did use another guy's kit when he ran out of time. It isn't artists' oil paints at all.

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If I don't come right with my current stained polyurethane, I might try adding some more stain concentrate to get an even darker colour. This is becoming a very expensive learning curve for me :S

Why not try some boot polish on a sample see how it goes, much cheaper alternative.

Black Japan finish is a traditional very dark black-brown colour that was used on floor boards and furniture. At full concentration it is very close to black with a slight hint of brown, but at 25% dilution (25% black japan in 75% turps) it is a rich brown. As a traditional stain it may be available world-wide.

So I played around with different stains and sealers to try and get the look I want.

A polyurethane sealer with an ebony stain concentrate added doesn't completely turn the wood black, it's just a little dark tint. Adding more layers does darken it, but 3 layers isn't even close to black yet.

A gel stain works well, but I could only get one type and it's a little bottle that is very expensive. I would need about 5 bottles to get enough layers to have it black, and then still seal it.

What I ended up doing then was to apply 1 layer of black gel stain, and then 3 layers of stained polyurethane sealer over it.

It turned out to make a very smooth and almost solid black finish, yet you can still see the wood grain, and it lets a little bit of dark brown through in the light.

For the counter top I used an Indonesian teak sealer, turned out great.

Attachment 370166

Thanks for all the input!