Red Oak Stain?
 

Can any of you suggest a good stain to bring out the best of Red Oak's grain?

I am planning on a saddle color for my interior and would like the Red Oak to complement that.

At least that is my vision currently,
JDarby

Re: Red Oak Stain?
 

I know our local hardware store has a display with a bunch of stained pieces of oak, stained with each color. It makes for a great visual to make a good plan. I need to head over and look for myself soon for my project as I am nearly at that stage too.

Re: Red Oak Stain?
 

try a place that does hardwood floors, they usually have a decent selection of stuff that is used on oak flooring and likely have a line of heavy duty clear to put over top.

Re: Red Oak Stain?
 

For the clear sealer I am doing Once and Done Marine grade?

I've seen guys who have sprayed #'s of coats of clear urethane on there's and it looks deep
but thats really not what I am looking for, nor do I have the space or time to do it that way!

Give me a rich color for my red oak and a good lasting clear coat and I am happy!

Re: Red Oak Stain?
 

Each color Oak will show different with the same stain, so if you can find a store like DALY's Paint or a Marine Store that sells wood and supplies (outdoor products), that would be your best bet.

Also if you have an extra 6 inches or so, take it with you and sometimes they would rub a couple different samples on it for a few buck and it is well worth it to have a visual sample on your wood but be sure to leave some of the raw wood so you can put a clear over everything and decide if you want stain or not.

There should be no need to spray it, just make sure the wood is clean and give it a buzz with a fine grit staying in the direction of the grain, vac and wipe down and apply an even coat of stain with a brush or clean white rag, once dry, apply a clear coat with a new all paint brush and let it dry, then lightly sand, clean, apply (2 to 3 time), about 3 coats of clear should be good.

Or you can skip the Stain and just do the Clear 3 times.

Satin or Low Luster finishes are really nice.

Best wishes.

Re: Red Oak Stain?
 

Minwax red mahogany is hard to beat for a rich tone on oak.

I've noticed a lot of trucks start to fail the bed board's clear at the endgrain. I stood my boards in a pan of sealer overnight and made sure all my clear coats covered the endgrain.

I used Solarez polyurethane to coat my bed boards and I put it on with a roller. It cures with UV, so I sat a garbage can in the driveway then painted the Solarez on the bed boards in the shop and set a board outside to cure in the Arizona sun. The Solarez would cure on one board in about the time it took to coat another one, so it goes pretty quick. I did three coats and sanded between coats.

I didn't have to, but I put a couple coats of automotive clear over the boards so I could cut and buff it like the rest of the truck.
https://talk.classicparts.com/media/...l?d=1587951677

Re: Red Oak Stain?
 

That is one beautiful bed you have there buddy!

Re: Red Oak Stain?
 

I've found out on my boats that you have to go with a lot higher grade of wood finish than hardware stores normally sell if you expect it to hold up.

Re: Red Oak Stain?
 

You might look into ammonia fuming, it will darken the board a bit and highlight the grain, then you apply finish over after. It is something you need to test on your particular wood.

If you want the finish to last, you need to seal top, bottom sides, screw holes and any scratches it gets in future. I'd look into an oil based marine finish like Deks Olje. Wipe some more on every year or so and it will stay looking good, no sanding needed.
In contrast re-varnishing requires re-sanding and you'd have to take the boards off to do a good job.