How many coats of stain do you generally use?

[Nick]

Just curious.

[JMB]

I'm new at this, but I would think it would depend on the grain and how much you want it to stand out. The one I am working on now I will do at least 4 coats. Burn & sand off the first 3. Then one last coat with a cloth. Working with wood furniture stain works best rub in rather that with a brush. Would think a pipe would work the same.

Just curious.

[bscofield]

I haven't experimented a lot with this either but I usually SLOP on one coat and then sand down to where I want. The reason I slop it on is because:

1- it's me making it even so there aren't any run marks or drips or dark sports. For this I have one wool applicator that has the dye on it. I slop it on and keep doing it until I feel everything is even. Then I have a dry one that I use to rub the pipe down as it's drying to keep dark spots or drips from forming.

2- the more I put on the more flexibility I have when sanding to get the grain contrast how I want it. If I just put on a little and then try and sand it down so only the grain retains the dye I find that even with a 1500 grit paper it really hard to get it even because it comes off so easily. When I have a lot on there I sand spots for a few minutes before I notice a change. It takes longer, but like I said it makes it easier for me to get the grain contrast even all over the pipe. A good example of when I slopped it on and was able to sand off all but the stain in the grain is my rotten apple:

[KurtHuhn]

How much stain? Until it looks good. Usually more than you think it needs.

[ArtGuy]

I use 2 most of the time. I first stain at the 320 or 400 level of sanding to help me see where the sanding marks are that I missed. Then I restain later on.

[jeff]

I used one coat on my first pipe. I've also tried the stain/sand/stain/buff method and multi layer staining. To tell you the truth, the stain/sand/stain/buff method was not too different from a heavy stain. Perhaps I'd sanded off too much, but I tried it several times on the same pipe. Perhaps I could have used some stains that were more contrasting (i.e. black prestain to pull out the grain, sand, and virgin stain to give it the final color). Has anyone else found some better results from these or different methods?

Jeff

[Jeffery]

I go pretty much the same route as John, though I've not done too many pipes other that very "virgin" looking pipes... I've gotten more requests for light pipes (I personally like how a pipe darkens with smoking, but a few blocks I have on the bench now are going to need a bit of help)

The bridge I'm finishing this week is going to be a deep walnut, so it will be a first for me going real deep...

I'll keep you up to date...

[Tyler]

I am not consistent. In fact, someone asked me today how I stain a particular pipe. I could not remember. I do it by feel, I suppose, adding stains in varying amounts and colors until I get what I want. I would guess that I rarely do less that 6 coats, and often 10+.

Tyler

[whitebar]

Tyler, I seem to take the same approach and will add many different stains to a given piece. I like the fact that this gives each pipe an individual look all its' own. It also seems to help a pipe develop a depth to the finish that I like. As you know, this adds a lot of extra work to a project but I find the end results are worth it.