staining 2x6 old and new

rtoni · 11-15-2012, 03:33 PM

In my main room, cathedral ceiling, I tied the rafters together right at the top plate - 2 joists bolted together on opposite sides of a rafter @ 4' intervals. These have been up for a couple years now. The original intent was to box them in at some point. I just recently added a "filler" 2x6 in between each existing pair, to stiffen / square things up and ended up with a sort of "laminated" beam - I don't mind the look so plan B now is possibly to just stain these boards as they are. But the one thing that worries me a bit is that the original 2x6's have darkened quite a bit, whereas the new piece that I sandwiched in the middle is very light. On a test piece, even with the dark stain I have, I get dramatically different shades. I'll end up with a "stripe" along the bottom. Is there a way to "prep" the wood - sort of like a coat of primer - prior to staining? I suppose a solid stain or just painting would cover well, but the wood grain, knots, etc. showing thru is kinda what I would like to keep if I can.

Thanks for any help...

funfool · 11-15-2012, 06:57 PM

I wonder what the texture of the original wood is. If it is rough sawn or smooth?
if the the original wood is rough, the 4 year old and new 2x6 is smooth.
I would take a 4" grinder with 80 grit paper on it and just lightly sand the surface.
Just touching it and run in long strokes will roughen it up and remove the darker color.
From the floor, would look more like rough sawn, little practice with the grinder and will get good results.
Otherwise just use a orbital sander on it with 100 grit paper and will lighten up the older wood, enough to match closer then it is now.

I would recommend using a good oil on it, just a natural color (prefer sikkens) Will look pretty white and blah when applied, although it does have some color to it.
Give it 6 months and will darken with age and look beautiful, after a year it will all blend in with the 4 year old and the recent new wood.
So you do not have to sand the wood perfectly white again, just get what comes off and closer then what it is now.
All wood will stain different anyways, some grain will be darker then others, even if the wood is all one species like pine. So the darker area will look natural to others, while you know it is the aged color, others will not.

rtoni · 11-16-2012, 09:23 AM

funfool - 80 grit on a grinder for a rough sawn look is a great idea. I suppose I could do this without worry about being 'perfect" since I'm going for a rustic / rough look anyway. That would probably be a bit faster than an orbital sander too, since I've got 8 of these things to deal with, 16' long. I've heard Sikkens is a good product.

I love the natural oiled look of cedar or pine. I originally considered using cedar with an oil on the entire ceiling - we ended up with t&g pine and went with the white pickle stain to brighten up the room a bit. A compromise between me (rustic) and wife (contemporary). I ended up staining the trim around the ceiling very dark - a mocha i think it was - it's a really nice contrast to the whitewashed ceiling so we'd like to keep these beams the same - very dark colour if we can. Assuming there's a water based sikkens stain product?

Thanks very much for the reply and the tips.

funfool · 11-16-2012, 10:51 AM

A picture can be worth a thousand words
the first photo is T&G pine with a oil base natural colored stain on it.
Everything is a few years old and has a nice color except the cover I built for the electric meter. I just stained it and it has no color and looks blah.
In about 6 months it caught up with the ceiling and matches it.
Will not get instant gratification, but with time will just keep looking better.
For future maintenance you just clean and brush on more when needed.
very easy to take care of.

The second photo, the doors looked just like the trim. had a stain and then some sort of clear coat poly on it.
The original finish looked much like the doors do now. I can tell by the interior where was not affected from the sun. The sun bleached the stain.
It took me 2 days to sand the old stain off of the doors and then apply a natural color sikkens on them, in future will not need sanded, just clean and wipe on more as needed.

The third photo is what I am working on today, finished framing yesterday and was some chainsaw action and some rough areas, all cleaned up with a grinder and 80 grit paper, will have photos this evening with it stained with sikkens.

rtoni · 11-16-2012, 11:44 AM

nice pics. thanks for posting them. i can see what you mean by the changes over time. what's the last picture of - is this a project you're building for someone else? looks really nice...