Sorting out vanish/stain mistake?

[purpleroad]

Didnt stir the varnish/stain I used properlypand it went on the wood blotchy. Stirred it with a thick bit of wood and it went on nicely for all the undersides of my shelves but not top sides. Anyway to get over this? Can u sand it out before 2nd coat?

 

[Bowlzi]

hard to see from your picture as there are shadows on the shelf.
Is it stain or varnish?
Is it oil based or water based
Was it prevented from freezing and was it painted in warn temerature
were the shelves free of varnish/wax before and new wood?

 

[Robbie uk]

If its a stain and varnish together, that will be where the problem lies. Ideally you need a separate stain and then a varnish.

 

[purpleroad]

Yeah I took it inside overnight as it was freezing.
It's a combination of stain and varnish together. Oil based. It was free of any other wax. Painted outside in the sun yesterday but obviously it is winter not so warm.

 

[purpleroad]

If its a stain and varnish together, that will be where the problem lies. Ideally you need a separate stain and then a varnish.

So to rectify would need to sand out crap bits then stain the same colour then varnish?

 

[Bowlzi]

Another coat directly on top may make the dark patches darker and the lighter patches a bit darker but it may be left relatively patchy still - IMO. You could just try over painting again on top of one shelf as a test (top shelf that may not be seen anyway or just part of a shelf). If you are not happy then wipe it off with a lint free rag and white spirit (if its definitely oil based) before it dries. Only do if the other coat is hard and dry though.

Or if the patchy finish is now dry, sand it down and try again. (again i would test on one shelf or a part of one shelf as you may waste your time if it doesn't work as you want)

 

[Bowlzi]

So to rectify would need to sand out crap bits then stain the same colour then varnish?

you may end up with a bit of a scratched up patchy shelf if you try and select parts to re do. Best to do it all as one finish (sand all, stain/varnish all) see my other post too

 

[EddieM]

I may be being over pessimistic here, and by all means try it, but in all honesty I don't rate your chances of getting a good result.

 

[Robbie uk]

The stain is suspended in the varnish and doesn't go on uniformly enough. Its always patchy. Needs a very good sanding down. A coat of chosen stain, then when dry, a rub down again and however many coats of clear satin or gloss varnish you want. Either water based or oil based.