OK guys and gals, what is your secret for staining end grain.  I went though every grit of sant paper I have from 80 - to 220 and still got this result (note corners).  I am afraid to stain the lid for fear of getting same result on the end grain!

 

Thanks

Edited March 11, 20206 yr by IrishWoodCarver

I always sand the end grain AT LEAST one grit finer than the rest of the project

If you’re fearful of it going dark, cut a little bit of Sealcoat dewaxxed shellac 2-1 and the end grain would absorb as much stain.

Hey Irish, I love the contrasting colors myself!

Like John inside does not affect the aesthetics of the piece to me.

Ron's advice is good (shellac). You might want to try it first and see if the effect is what you want. Otherwise, sanding it to a much finer grit is the only alternative I can think of.

Hey Irish, please tell me why that one corner is angled differently

To properly color end grain use a dye not a stain.  Dyes color the wood uniformly.  Stain is use to bring out the grain.

Use the dye on end grain and long grain as the background.  Then use the stain on the end grain and long grain for the foreground.

 

Once dye has dryed into the end grain you can use stain becuase the dye has filled up all the pores with dye.

This is very similiar to using at 1 lb cut of shellac as that also seals up the pores.  But it does so with the shellac color.

That is why I prefer dye.

 

Edited March 13, 20206 yr by Michael Thuman

On 3/12/2020 at 7:25 AM, Cal said:

Hey Irish, please tell me why that one corner is angled differently

LOL - both front corners are angled - it is my feeble attempt of artistic interpretation of our bedroom set.  This will be going in our walk-in closet, but in the event the wife wants it moved out into the actual bedroom - she wanted it to match our bedroom set which has angled corners (with much more elaborate molding - but hey - I am giving it my best shot as a self-taught woodworker - LMAO).

 

The angled faces will have "some sort" of trim decorating it (still to be designed) and I need to make the base molding.

 

..........    and thus the reason the front corners are angled

On 3/11/2020 at 3:42 PM, Ron Dudelston said:

If you’re fearful of it going dark, cut a little bit of Sealcoat dewaxxed shellac 2-1 and the end grain would absorb as much stain.

Neighbor had some Sealcoat for me to try on scrap wood - worked great - thanks for the suggestion

dye works every time and all the time.

On 3/13/2020 at 1:45 PM, IrishWoodCarver said:

Neighbor had some Sealcoat for me to try on scrap wood - worked great - thanks for the suggestion