anon, i have used that exact fricking jacobean stain and it was a total disappointment. I know exactly what you want color-wise (what's on the fricking tin), and the product you actually want is General Finishes' "Java" gel stain. It will get you the rich dark color in a single coat. You can of course add more coats.
for this project, I actually tested out the old can of Jacobean I've had laying around just as a reminder that it's dogshit. What you're seeing in the photos is ONE coat (maybe two, I forget) of Java, with a few coats of varathane water-based gloss polyurethane sprayed on top with the $15 harbor freight spray gun
This Kona can gets pretty close to the darker ones in your pic as well.
It only looks like it’s one shade darker than the “Dark Walnut”, but two coats of the yellow can of dark walnut looks like some fricking golden oak. The “Premium” white cans seem to go on darker in one coat and end up closer to what is on the can. I bet the white can of Espresso or Kona would get what OP is looking for.
What’s your setup with the spray gun? Is the finish that much better? Might go snag the $15 gun next project if it looks better assuming I don’t need to go full autism air dryer and filters and stuff. Going to be doing shelves and shit like yours, not full scale cabinet building and dock finishing.
I seriously regret not doing it sooner, it's so fricking easy
1. Husky 8 gallon hotdog compressor
2. Standard quick-connect fittings and a fifty-foot air hose
3. The Harbor Freight 20oz HVLP gravity feed air spray gun (currently $16.99)
With the varathane water-based poly it's already thin enough that i just pour it straight from the can (through a paper cone paint filter) and into the gun's reservoir and I'm good to go. Just start spraying shit. The cleanup is just dumping the remaining poly back in the can, and then because it's water-based I just go outside and turn my garden hose on and pour water into the open reservoir while holding the spray trigger until it's blowing clean water through. That's IT. I was all apprehensive about getting into spraying because I thought cleanup would be some involved process but the gun is fifteen fricking bucks (and really works well), i'll just throw it away and get a new one if it gets gunked up.
For this shelf project it was nothing to put on like seven coats because it took me fifteen minutes to walk into the garage, turn the compressor on, click the hose into the gun, pop the poly can open, pour some through a filter and into the gun, pop my workpiece on some sawhorses in the driveway, blast it, set it in the garage to dry, repeat for remaining shelves, dump excess poly back into can, spray water through gun, go back inside and sit back on the couch, wait another hour.
for YEARS i'd been fricking around with rags and foam brushes and all that shit and this is just miles easier and cleaner (now that I have a house with a big driveway for spraying and I can park my cars far enough away I don't need to worry about overspray)
if you can avoid sanding through the existing coloring (in the event that it is already stained), yeah a cheaper minwax will be fine. I'm the gel stain guy, I just like how dark you can get fresh bright pine with a single coat of it.
I ended up having to sand through, this piece if 40+ years old and had some sort of laquer stain. Ended up finding an almost perfect match with minwax surprisingly.
(this is just the first application of stain btw)
you took standard derivatives for each component instead of partial derivatives
you're trying to apply a deep tone stain to a white wood. it'll take 2 coats of stain to get the desired tone
This. Staining light wood dark is a pain. Try a thicker gel type stain.
You took too many tabs man
try peeing on it
anon, i have used that exact fricking jacobean stain and it was a total disappointment. I know exactly what you want color-wise (what's on the fricking tin), and the product you actually want is General Finishes' "Java" gel stain. It will get you the rich dark color in a single coat. You can of course add more coats.
forgot to note: do a search if there's a woodworking store in your area, in particular a chain called Woodcraft, that's where you get this shit
for this project, I actually tested out the old can of Jacobean I've had laying around just as a reminder that it's dogshit. What you're seeing in the photos is ONE coat (maybe two, I forget) of Java, with a few coats of varathane water-based gloss polyurethane sprayed on top with the $15 harbor freight spray gun
This Kona can gets pretty close to the darker ones in your pic as well.
It only looks like it’s one shade darker than the “Dark Walnut”, but two coats of the yellow can of dark walnut looks like some fricking golden oak. The “Premium” white cans seem to go on darker in one coat and end up closer to what is on the can. I bet the white can of Espresso or Kona would get what OP is looking for.
What’s your setup with the spray gun? Is the finish that much better? Might go snag the $15 gun next project if it looks better assuming I don’t need to go full autism air dryer and filters and stuff. Going to be doing shelves and shit like yours, not full scale cabinet building and dock finishing.
I seriously regret not doing it sooner, it's so fricking easy
1. Husky 8 gallon hotdog compressor
2. Standard quick-connect fittings and a fifty-foot air hose
3. The Harbor Freight 20oz HVLP gravity feed air spray gun (currently $16.99)
With the varathane water-based poly it's already thin enough that i just pour it straight from the can (through a paper cone paint filter) and into the gun's reservoir and I'm good to go. Just start spraying shit. The cleanup is just dumping the remaining poly back in the can, and then because it's water-based I just go outside and turn my garden hose on and pour water into the open reservoir while holding the spray trigger until it's blowing clean water through. That's IT. I was all apprehensive about getting into spraying because I thought cleanup would be some involved process but the gun is fifteen fricking bucks (and really works well), i'll just throw it away and get a new one if it gets gunked up.
For this shelf project it was nothing to put on like seven coats because it took me fifteen minutes to walk into the garage, turn the compressor on, click the hose into the gun, pop the poly can open, pour some through a filter and into the gun, pop my workpiece on some sawhorses in the driveway, blast it, set it in the garage to dry, repeat for remaining shelves, dump excess poly back into can, spray water through gun, go back inside and sit back on the couch, wait another hour.
for YEARS i'd been fricking around with rags and foam brushes and all that shit and this is just miles easier and cleaner (now that I have a house with a big driveway for spraying and I can park my cars far enough away I don't need to worry about overspray)
That’s whats up. I have the same compressor but it’s blue and sold at HF. Brushes cost as much as that gun and it’s a pain to get in corners and such.
fellas I'm sanding this poly off and am going to restain, will minwax be fine since this isn't raw?
I'll probably bite the bullet and spray the poly on as well
if you can avoid sanding through the existing coloring (in the event that it is already stained), yeah a cheaper minwax will be fine. I'm the gel stain guy, I just like how dark you can get fresh bright pine with a single coat of it.
I ended up having to sand through, this piece if 40+ years old and had some sort of laquer stain. Ended up finding an almost perfect match with minwax surprisingly.
(this is just the first application of stain btw)
Don't use stain, use wood dye. I apply with a spray bottle, diluted with distilled water, use as much as needed to get the right shade.