Stain vs No Stain

[Bill Holt]

Our daughter bought a live edge red oak slab with a crack.  I inlayed a maple bow tie.  She wants the slab stained to go with her dark floors.  I thought I could shellac the maple and stain the slab.  This did not work on the practice.  What say ye?

I know there is a Finish section, but there is not a lot of traffic down there.

[oakey]

Bill
Pretty sure the stain will stain the maple along with the red oak even After You shellac the maple
you might have to stain the oak then add the bow tie
Shellac accepts stain pretty readally
I often shellac first then stain maple and cherry to avoid blotches
I am assuming you want to keep the tie unstained correct ?

[barryvabeach]

Bill,  if you want to keep the maple white, and stain the oak, you can do it, but it will take a few steps, and you need to make sure the stain and the finish are different types.  There are two methods I use when inlaying holly stringing.

The first method, which oakey suggests, is to stain the red oak, then apply the finish.  Then tape the red oak with painters tape in the area where the bowtie is to go, then cut and inlay the bowtie, then use a plane then scraper to get the surface of the bowtie even with the tape or the red oak, then carefully use a scraper to continue to bring it down till you take off the blue tape. Then use a detail brush to apply finishe to the bowtie,  again, you don't want to dissolve the existing finish on the oak, so don't use shellac for both.    At that point, you can add clear finish to the whole table - but, if the finish and the stain use the same thinner, you run the risk that the stain bleeds onto the bowtie.  If the stain is oil based, and you covered it with an oil based clear finish, that shellac will be good to isolate the bowtie.  When I do this route, some surface imperfection can usually be felt, though i guess you could keep adding clear and then sanding back to get it pretty smooth.

The second method is to treat it like pinstriping.  Inlay the bowtie, and get it perfectly smooth with the surrounding oak.  Then tape around the outside of the bowtie, and apply a few coats of clear finish, sanding between coats.  You want it completely smooth.  Then take off the tape around the bowtie, then tape the bowtie and press firmly, then use a detail brush to get the stain up to the edge of the taped bowtie, and then stain the rest of the table.  When you are done, it is best to lock in that stain with a coat of finish that will not dissolve the stain. The remove the tape over the bowtie, and apply another coat of finish.  I normally work with waterborne finishes and spraying, and that makes it a little easier.  The method gets a smoother texture, for most of the stuff I work with, but it takes more time.

[Bill Holt]

Yes, "I" want the maple without stain. Our daughter is not concerned about the maple being stained.  I know the two woods will stain differently; I'd just rather not stain the maple.
The bow tie is already in place.

[barryvabeach]

Bill, then treat it using the second method, it takes more time than the first method, but the results are a little smoother.

[Bill Holt]

Bill, then treat it using the second method, it takes more time than the first method, but the results are a little smoother.

Most likely my finishing skills are not at this level, but I think I will make a practice piece then give your second method a go.  This old dog might learn something.

[Bill Holt]

Thank you guys for the suggestions.  I figured someone had crossed this bridge before me.