Can stabilized wood be stained?

[RMB]

I'm working on a special pen for a buddy of mine, and part of it is stabilized, red dyed curly maple, with pickguard intersections. Well I turned the blank, and I'm kind of worried that it may be a bit too pink, I tried some Minwax red oak stain I had around, and it might have darkened it a tad, but didn't really soak in all that well. Another complication is that I need to leave the pickguard white, or else I'd use a tinted laquer on it like we do on cabinets.

Any suggestions? Is there a kind of stain that will penetrate stabilized wood? Would sunlight darken it any?

I've heard of some people using Plexi to stabilize wood,mine came from AS, don't know if that's what they use. In that case, would acetone disolve the plexi on the top layer, allowing stain to penetrate? Might disolve the pickguard too, I'd have to test that. Just thinking out loud....

 

[heinedan]

Staining Stabilized Blanks

Hello,

I have not had any experinece staining stabilized blanks, but I know that when I apply the BLO/CA finish(boiled linseed oil and CA), the wood darkens considerably. Might be worth a try!

Good Luck,
Dan

 

[RMB]

I use a straight CA finish, haven't had much luck with the BLO variation. You think there would be a difference in the finished color?

 

[markgum]

Hey Ryan;
I have used BLO and then CA to finish some of my pens. the wood will darken a lot with the BLO. Now, putting it over a stablized pen.. hmmm not sure it will have much effect but might be worth a try.

 

[leehljp]

Some people use colored poster markers to color stabilized corn cob pens and wood pens also (such as maple or other light colored woods) after turning to size and finish sanding of the wood.