Uneven Stain: What Can I Do Better?

[Literaryworkshop]

Help a fellow out here. I'm getting an uneven stain up near the top of the bowl, where there's a concave area.









I sanded the whole pipe to 400 grit and applied Fiebings light brown dye. Then I sanded it back a little and added some water based burgundy dye over that. I sanded the whole thing back to 600 grit and waxed.

I can't figure out whether those dark spots up near the rim are my fault or the wood's fault. I suspect I didn't sand it back enough in that concave area. On the other hand, I know briar will tend to be a little more porous up at the top of the burl, but then I would expect the dark spots to go all the way up to the top.

I like the color I get with these two dyes combined like this, but I'd really like to be able to get an even stain.

[scotties22]

Try wiping the Fiebings off with some denatured alcohol before you sand it next time and see if that helps. That might make it a little easier to sand after you apply the light brown. I would lean toward not sanding that area enough. If it were right under the rim then I could see it being the wood. I don't use Fiebings anymore. I think it's a pain to work with and really loads up my sandpaper.

[BobR]

T I don't use Fiebings anymore. I think it's a pain to work with and really loads up my sandpaper.

What do you use?

[Literaryworkshop]

So you think it might just be an over-accumulation of the dye in that little concavity? I'd buy that.

I also got a really dark spot on the top of the bowl/stummel junction, but I managed to get that sanded out pretty evenly.

[scotties22]

Thats what it looks like to me. I could be wrong...it's happened before.

Bob, I use Transtint and you can get it at Woodcraft.

[Joe Hinkle Pipes]

This seems to happen near the live edge of the burl. Try the DNA wipe and see if that helps.

[Charl]

Had the same problem a couple of times. Nothing much you can do, except stain the whole pipe dark.
Capillary movement of the stain from the plateaux, if I might try to be technical.

[Sasquatch]

I am still not sure if it is that capillary action - I can't replicate it when I try, and I've tried staining only the tops of test pieces, only the sides, etc. It's like cold fusion - I believe in it but I can't make it happen in the lab.

[andrew]

If it is some type of demon capillary action, you should be able to seal the plateaux before staining with thin shellac. That would probably help.

andrew

[Literaryworkshop]

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. It looks like it's back to the lab for me. I've saved big scraps with some plateaux on them, so I may just start experimenting and recording my results. If I can replicate this with a flat piece of plateaux, then I'll assume it's the wood. If not, then I'll assume it's my sanding technique.

I'm still not very good at sanding back stains evenly, so I'm inclined to think this is user-error.

[BigCasino]

I'm working on two plateau pipes and I was going to try the shellac seal before staining this time, as I have also had this happen before, and it bothers me!