Gel Staining

Well, pump the brakes. The headline says, “Gel Staining”, well that’s not going to work, not with my setup anyway. But I “prepped”, or I thought I did. I sanded, I cleaned, I liquid sanded, people, all to no avail. My imagination tells me exactly the way I want it to look when I’m finished, my brain says, heck yeah, that’ll look nice, you can do it. Then there’s reality, always sitting there, waiting for me to see the results. So, just like anything, there’s a beginning, a middle and an end. I’m definitely past the beginning and deep into the whirlpool of the middle thinking I had a glimpse of the end. So, a quick back story. I built from scratch a set of solid white oak end tables and finished them in an Ebony stain; they passed my harsh scrutiny that I set for myself. Anyway, I wanted this credenza to match the end tables. I’ve tested and tried, and without being too long winded, I can’t make that happen. I tried the gel stain, didn’t work, tried regular oil-based stain, didn’t work. Then I got to investigating and realized the factory finish is a lacquer finish. I really don’t want to mess with lacquer right now, so after deliberating with the recipient of the credenza, we agreed that a monolithic ebony colored credenza was not what she wanted in her living space. We agreed that a dark brown paint job with a matte finish would satisfy the look for the living area. the end is so much clearer now. I think…