Dark finish for Oak

[brnhornt]

Hi gang,

Quick question (tried searching but didn't come up with anything) 

I am going to be staining my Oak stair case.  Treads, handrail, etc.  Looking for a dark brown, hint of mahogany/red....does anyone have a finish schedule that they're happy with?  I'm thinking a water-based dye, followed by a seal coat of shellac, hit it with a dark gel glaze...then top with multiple coats of poly.

Thanks for any input!
Kevin

[Rob Young]

Hi gang,

Quick question (tried searching but didn't come up with anything) 

I am going to be staining my Oak stair case.  Treads, handrail, etc.  Looking for a dark brown, hint of mahogany/red....does anyone have a finish schedule that they're happy with?  I'm thinking a water-based dye, followed by a seal coat of shellac, hit it with a dark gel glaze...then top with multiple coats of poly.

Thanks for any input!
Kevin

I've done something similar (except the multiple coats of poly) on some quarter sawn red oak to make it look like one of the dark "Stickley" type finishes.  Worked great. 

Modified plan taken from articles written by Jeff Jewit and found at Homestead Finishing.

Substituted dewaxed garnet shellac and amber as my seal coats between layers and as topcoat.  He calls out some GF products.

A small table top, I think prior to last topcoating with garnet shellc.  This also got a single coat of waterborne poly because it would eventually be used as a plant stand.




A bookrack adapted from plans in Fine Woodworking which in turn was adapted from a Stickley design.  This one I used amber instead of garnet.  Bit difficult to tell because my lighting is uneven between the two, but this is a more red-orange than the plant stand.

[fredhargis]

I've used a schedule like you described and got the dark mission look, much like the above post. Just try it out and show the boss first. The pics below were taken in the bright sun which makes them look lighter than they really are. These aren't topped with "poly", I used Pratt and Lambert 38. The dye was mission brown, and the glaze I used was GF gel stain in mahogany.

[brnhornt]

Thanks guys...looks like I'm on the right track