Does anyone have experience with black stain (on oak)?

[RFP]

Good evening...

My Klipschorn remodel requires that I construct new sides for the mid/tweeter section or make new sides for the motorboard (I am moving the front of the motorboard out to be flush with the front plane of the bass bin).

I opted for new side panels. I have completed the construction of four identical side panels using baltic birch and hard maple... I have veneered them in oak.

The final finish that I will be looking for is pretty much 'black oak' but I want to still be able to see the grain pattern (assuming that I am close enough).

I want to use stain, not paint.

Hence the question... does anyone have any experience with black stain on oak that they could pass along to me? I would be most grateful.

Cheerz,

Rob

[Speedball]

Quite a heavy wood project you have going there, looks nice. Just make sure you get all the glue sanded off before staining.

Goodluck.

[RFP]

Quite a heavy wood project you have going there, looks nice. Just make sure you get all the glue sanded off before staining.

Goodluck.

Thanks, Speedball... Yes there are end panels done with profound overkill. The oak veneered surfaces are all glue free... the insides will just get a healthy shot of flat black spray (I don't know why, they will never show).

Rob

[Kriton]

Hey RFP,

My 2c, for what it is worth...I refinished a single birch HEresy not

too long ago, was stained badly, I sanded it down, but the brown stain

went too deep, so I decided to make them black - the stain that i used

was the darkest ebony I could find, but it still (even after preparing

the wood with stain sealer) came out lighter than I wanted (kind of a

black tinted mocha, with the original dark brwon oak stain coming out

here and there) I wanted pitch black with some grain showing -

kind of like my black RF-7's - anyways...

I used black wood DYE, which I found at a local Woodcrafters, it was

pitch and soaked into the wood nicely..I followed up with a coat of

Watco that I sanded in, re-dyed where necessary, and it came out a very

black satin with a low sheen, but I am sure that followed up with

laquer, it would do quite nicely as a shiny surface. Wood grain

intact, no problems with hardwood splotchy spots, and a nice lustre to

boot. A littel dye goes a long way, brush it on the inside and

leave it, no painting necessary - and no chance of overspray either.

Just my experience - I guess it depends on how dark you want it?

K

[Groomlakearea51]

Rob; in re: "the insides will just get a healthy shot of flat black spray (I don't know why, they will never show"

One reason that's a great idea is that, over time, dependent on humidity, etc., the unfinished or raw sides can absorb moisture at a different rate and can actually warp. Given your 'overkill', while probably unlikely, you never know..... On my Heresy's (and the K'horn restore/rebuild project), I always shoot a good primer on all non-veneered/non-facing, or inside surfaces. Seals them, and keeps moisture out, permanently.

Also, Kriton has a great suggestion. In the absence of the stain you really want, you can always use the dye method. Go to www.joewoodworker.com for a good discussion and primer on the use of dyes. Hope that helps.

[RFP]

Thanks, guys...

I bought some Solar-Lux stain over at the Fort Worth Woodcraft store a couple of days ago... man, oh man, is that stuff BLACK!! I got some on me just opening the bottle and most of it is still there. Anyway, I tried some of the stuff on a 'scrap' veneer sample and I just may re-think this black idea. I've decided that I want it "nearly black" but with grain still visible (without having to get within nano-inches of the speakers to see it). I'm going back over there tomorrow and waste some more money on another stain or two. I'll keep you posted.

In the meantime, the "cosmetic overhaul" of these monsters continues...

Rob

[Guest " "]

RFP

You want gloss, semi-gloss, satin or flat?

My 2004 LaScalas are semi-gloss black, grain showing, shine is there, but not mirror piano finish.

[RFP]

RFP

You want gloss, semi-gloss, satin or flat?

Mike,

I'm still agonizing over that decision... right now, I'm leaning toward satin.

[Guest " "]

RFP

I'm going to be "doing" as set of base bins to match the finish on my LaScala's. I'll do some test peices and post the results. I'm going for semi-gloss, but I'll also do a peice in satin.

Since the finish on my 2004 laScala's is chipable, I don't think it's stain. I bought oil base black paint in the various finishes. I'm going to play with the thining until I get a finsh that matches my 2004 LaScala's with the desired grain detail. Maybe some of the info will be helpful, or spark a good idea from another forum member.

I'll have some samples by the end of Wensday.

[colterphoto1]

Klipsch uses black lacquer, 40 sheen. The manufacturer has changed from year to year, but lacquer is the coating that makes it black and allows the grain pattern to pop through. I don't know how oak would take stain, if you could find a stain that would be black enough.

Paint of any type (latex, oil based) will be too thick and will hide the grain lines in the oak.

Michael

[Groomlakearea51]

Michael (Colterphoto1) is correct; #40. Also, current manufacture for Klipsch is Valspar/OPEX. It's "SSG" or satin/semigloss, #40 sheen. To really get "exact" you would also need to obtain some of their black laquer primer. Both the primer and the SSG have to be sprayed, usually with a finishing gun. You can use a HVLP gun such as a DeVilbiss F3, etc. (I use a 1.3mm nozzle and it works perfectly.

Short version: Very lightly sand the raw oak with maybe with 180 or 220, dependent upon how aggressive you want the grain pattern to be. Shoot the primer, and after it dries, very lightly sand again, say with 220, to bring out the grain, then shoot one or two (I do two) light coats of SSG.

Factory also shoots one or two light coats #40 clear laquer on also to protect the SSG. It's a good idea, and looks great.

If you would like, you can email me and I'll email you a photo of my KC-BB's that I just finished, and a "refinishing" instruction sheet. After dragging them around all over the world with me for 28 years, they needed re-doing. The end result is that they probably look like the day they came from the factory... Hope that helps.