So I built and aquarium stand from pine. I know not really the best wood but I wasn't ready to pay for oak or maple yet.
Anyway I am at the part where I would start staining and I'm doing some test pieces since I've never stained anything black and its not coming out like I would have hoped. The test pieces I mean.
It's just not dark looking. I've tried diff methods and almost everything seems to turn out the same.
I've tried using pre stain conditioner and not using it. Sanding with diff grits and even just letting a coat dry without wiping it off.
It's not really coming out nice and dark nor showing much of the grain

Any tips. I've stained plenty of things in my life from beds to floors and never had this much trouble. I'm not ready to stain the actual tand until I see some better test results.

Thanks!

 

Since your going with black I would just paint it.

 

Really wanted the grain. Maybe I'll just do a lighter stain

 

Which stain are you using?

Pine often stains unevenly so many times a wood conditioner is recommended. The problem with wood conditioners is it slightly seals the wood [makes it take the stain more evenly] which makes it harder for the wood to accept the stain. That means the stain color will be lighter. Sometimes it's helpful to apply a tinted poly over the stain to further darken the color BUT tinted polys can be tricky to apply!

 

It's darn near impossible to stain pine black, paint would be my choice or a lighter color stain.

 

Damn
Thanks guys
I did use a pre conditioner on some tests pieces and believe it or not the ones I didn't look better. One I did conditioner but literally wiped it on and off and the grain looks great but the non grain is really light
I looked at alot of resources online but my test pieces are just so iffy.
Maybe I'll go see what else is available. Any thoughts on the darkest I could go with pine

 

What effect a wood conditioner has on the pine is determined in part by how long it is left on the wood [how much the wood soaks up] When using homemade conditioner how thick it is also plays a part.

I hadn't thought about it before and I rarely ever use them but have you looked into latex stains? I know Minwax sells them and they come in an assortment of colors not readily available in oil stains.

 

I had not as everywhere specified oil and its what I always used in the past butaybe I'll try. I've also heard the latex finish coats don't hold up as well

 

Oil base is preferred but sometimes you need a latex stain to get the desired color [usually pastel colors] You can still top coat with oil base poly, it will deepen the color a little. Latex stains can be a little harder to work with because they have a shorter work time than oil stains.