Pro tip: I think you should always seal before you stain on maple, fight me

I was finishing a maple table in my garage and the stain went on blotchy as hell, so I sanded it back and used a 1lb cut of dewaxed shellac first. Anyone have a better method for that pinkish tint on soft maple?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_michael3mo ago

Wait, you sanded back a whole table? That's a brutal amount of work, man. I've been there with maple, it's the worst for soaking up stain unevenly. The shellac seal coat is the classic fix, but that pink tint you get on soft maple is a whole other beast.

patel.daniel3mo ago

Maple's reputation for blotching is way overblown if you just thin your stain properly. A lot of people skip that step and then blame the wood. The pink tint can actually be a cool feature if you lean into it with your finish choice.

anna_hill1mo ago

Thinning the stain is step one for sure. I also started wiping on a washcoat of dewaxed shellac first. Makes a huge difference on maple.