: Redhd,
Bless You..!!

: 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.

Never read any books on finishes... I learned from a guy that should have Written a book. He MADE his own stains and finishes. Was in his late 60's and into his 70's when I knew him. He spent his whole life in woodworking..

: 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.

You CAN.. trust me.. if you're used to using natural materials you can see a colored finish from a mile away..

I've seen and used a couple of things like this and the problem is... it tends to mask the actual wood grain and you end up seeing brush strokes instead of the natural wood grain.

What the Alcohol / Shellac does it soak into the soft grain and not in the harder grain. This tends to keep areas with softer grain/wood from soaking up more stain and showing as darker.. I'm a wood freak... I want to see the natural grains and I don't like covering them up with solid finishes ( colors ). When the wood is sanded, you have actual wood on the surface for the epoxy to adhere to. Whereas.. with those cover stains, you are trying to get epoxy to stick to the finish... not near as reliable... or atractive...

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.

I still think you'll have a problem with those as it's on the surface only and when you sand to get a bite for the epoxy, you are going to take off the stain to a certain extent.. Besides... it's not that I'm trying to stain the wood.. I'm not.. I just want to eliminate the darker 'soft-wood' areas and the hard areas around the knots ( if any ). The Shellac / alcohol mixture does NOT stain the wood... it soaks in clear and eliminates the darkening of areas causeing blotchiness..

: 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.

What I have heard is that the epoxy oak combination is an acid/alkaline combo and they neutralize the bond.. Poly is a totally different chemical composition and therefore doesn't have the same reaction.
By washing the wood with Acetone or ?? you basically eliminate the acidity from the surface the epoxy will be bonded to. So.. that should help in the bonding...

: Good luck,
: Paul

Well, I tried pulling my samples apart with light pressure and they all seem to bond pretty well. I intend on doing more tests later and will not pull them all apart until it gets warmer and sunny around here, so I can test the Shellac to see if it softens under the epoxy/glass combo. I don't think this will be an issue since my surface is actually sanded wood that the epoxy is bonded to... and not the shellac. When I finish the tests, probaly in the spring, I will do a write-up and give what results I come up with...

Thanks for your comments...

Rehd
Fresburg, Calif.