water based stain on oak carving

[sjbrian]

i don't like how this turned out. any comments? i wanted to keep the grain visible , but have the wood stained. i think next time i may just stick with traditional wood stains or paint.

[Paul_Guraedy]

I have had pretty good luck using water based stains. The first thing I do is to seal the wood. I then apply the stain, wait a few minutes, wipe it off and allow the piece to dry. If it is not even or the color I want, I put on a second coat, wipe it off, allow it to dry and do another evaluation. It almost always takes at least two and sometimes three coats to get where I want to go.

[Pierre]

A quick one-handed reply........
As long as the effect you're seeking isn't opaque, we often mix just enough oil based color in with a clear sealer or a very light colored stain. It won't give an opaque finish, but it applys enough color to get the desired effect.
One of our "secrets" is to use POR15's Glisten PC clear sealer and mix the oil based color right in with it. Often we mix up 4 or 5 different color %s of very light to dark in the same color range, IE: Mohoganys or Walnuts.
If it's going to require color we mix the oil based color in with the clear Glisten PC. All of the above allows the grain to show, but keep in mind that with an overabundance of the pigment, the less grain shows through.
With water based, the approach is virtually the same using a water based clear with pigment mixed to the appropriate levels.

P