: My experiment was basically to tame the color variation one gets when
: applying a finish over soft woods.. such as WRC... which looks really
: blotchy when wet out.. Same-Same Pine and most others... I've used it on
: furniture for that reason and it works great. I've even used it ( 4 to 1
: ratio ) to keep the end grain on Oak looking exactly the same as the
: edge/side grain.. no darkening at all...

Redhd,

I recommend the book _Understanding Wood Finishes_ by Bob Flexner. Excellent book on the subject of staining and sealing wood with commonly available finishes, with the exception of epoxy.

Since I am only going from memory, what I say is suspect of being wrong, however, the two "easiest" ways that I can remember to tame the blotchiness tendencies of certain woods, when stained, is to use a gel stain or to use a wood "toner" (I believe that's the term he used) which is simply something like Polyshades by Minwax, where they take the varnish and mix stain in it and it does not really stain the wood but instead "stains" the finish, although when done properly, you can't tell that its not the wood that's stained. I do not know if you can use Polyshades under epoxy (according to Bob, you are not supposed to put a harder film finish over a soft film finish, so I highly do not recommend using shellac underneath epoxy, however, I do not know if Polyshades or other brand equivalents are harder or softer than epoxy), but if you don't mind topcoating the epoxy with the toner after you get the desired finish it should be OK. The easiest and perhaps safest is the gel stain. It can be used under any finish, once the stain itself has dried.

As far as acidity in Oak, I have never found that to be a problem with typical Polyurethane and I doubt that there is anything to it being a problem with epoxy.

Good luck,
Paul