staining dowels.

[JPAM]

hi ya'll; what would be the best product for staining dowels on a 1:48 scale model? the dowels are a real light wood color and i need to get them more realistic looking. i tried golden oak minwax wood finish as i had it sitting around to bad results as it did not take evenly and thus ruined my Jib~boom. damn Minwax

 

. any recommendations? 

 

thanks. 

 

J

[HSM]

Minwax also sells a "pre-conditioning" product that (I think) is basically the liquid carrier in a can of stain, but without the pigment. This wets the wood and when the stain is applied it is much more even.

[bhermann]

The Minwax product I used on my dowels is called "Pre-stain Wood Conditioner" (I just read the can).  I wiped that on with a rag, waited 15 minutes, then applied Minwax Wood Finish.  It made for a very even stain - check the photos in my log to see the result. 

 

The color I used was "Special Walnut".  I was going for a darker finish to make it look like the masts had been "slushed" to allow mast hoops to slide up and down.

 

Bob

[JPAM]

tried the pre stain wood conditioner and it works nicely. 

 

thanks. 
 

[TBlack]

Another thing you can do is buy your dowels from a woodworking store that caters to furniture makers (in the USA I'm thinking of Woodcrafters or Rockler). Furniture makers typically make plugs from dowels to cover screw heads. Consequently, cherry, mahogany, etc dowels are readily available in these stores.

Tom