Stain on french doors not matched

15 years ago

I have just recently stained maple french doors. I had a problem with one side -- one door came out lighter than the other, so I added a second coat... still off balance. So after two coats on each, I still have one darker door. I read through a few posts and it looks like I might be able to apply mineral spirits to the darker side to lighten it. I just finished it about 24 hours ago, so it is not yet completely dry. Can someone let me know if this is the right process: lightly apply mineral spirits with a clean rag to lighten the darker stain? Should I also sand or use steel wool?

And - will this process help fix a few drips as well? First time stainer --- and very frustrated!

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Comments (2)

Jon1270
15 years ago
Can you describe the process you've been using to apply the stain, and the "problem" you first encountered? The fact that you have drips of dried stain makes it sound as if you aren't wiping off the excess wet stain after an appropriate interval.
tracywi
Original Author
15 years ago
the drips were definitely because i didn't wipe spots well enough in a few places.

the process was applying a wood conditioner and waiting about 20 minutes and then wiping that off before applying the stain. Applied with a paint brush. It seemed to be fine except for this one spot on the door where it didn't seem to absorb into the wood very well, so it was a lot darker from the get-go.

any advice on how to lighten that spot and clean up the drip marks a bit?
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