[cocomonkeynuts]

Daly's is used a lot here as a prestain conditioner it definitely gives fir a more toned down look after staining. As for the streaks no Benite is so thin shouldn't do that if it properly penetrated and dried. I would suggest calling Daly's/Farwest Coatings and talk to Brian Paulson: brianp@dalyswoodfinishes.com

Hes an expert on that product.


I tell people to sand to medium 120-150 grit, remove dust, Benite, dry overnight, scuff sand 150-180 grit, remove dust, then stain. I have had better luck using old masters gel stains with benite over fir. Gives your more control over the opacity.


Did you read the back of the can? These instructions are almost verbatim on there. My guess is that starting at 220 is was too fine giving no penetration and a thin film that can scratch.

 

[cocomonkeynuts]

Call me crazy, but I like the conditioners that you put on, wipe off a little, wait a few minutes, then stain away. Whats the advantage of Benite, or similar products over products like old masters conditioner, where you dont need to wait overnight, and sand before staining?

Benite penetrates deep, seals and hardens the wood about 25%. In that regard I like it more than shellac or a PVA. Can be used interior or exterior where shellac really isn't recommended.

 

[cocomonkeynuts]

Thank you for the help so far, I will contact Brian at Farwest after holiday.
I did contact a Daly's trained, color match rep, at my local store who has helped me, she said to let it dry longer being in a semi heated garage (62- 68 degrees?) then I tried a 150 grit sandpaper..
So I waited another 24 + hours switched over to the door (which I had not sanded after Benite application) worked on one lower panel, but unfortunately the same thing happened it appears to my novice eye, maybe it is sanding the high points of the wood and I get a scratched scuffed look & whitish streaks, I tried rubbing firmly with tack cloth after, it did remove some white, but replaced the hazy white streak with a "smooth" shiny streak.

So still trying to figure out why.
I am worrying the stain is going to magnify the streaks.

I wonder if I was too light on sanding the door initially?
Maybe I have been too cautious of sanding through the veneer? so maybe I have not sanded the door & sidelights enough? to make them a completely smooth flat surface? so the streaks I am seeing are high points of the wood?

The Door is a Simpson but the sidelights were custom made at Franks Lumber a Door store here in WA.. but BOTH products are having the same results.
If my novice assumption is accurate.. what to do now? re-sand entire door? to attempt to make it smooth? then re apply Benite?
If so, I do know one person (not the manufacture) who says you should stain right after applying Benite. So you would skip the sanding process.

Before I started the project I watched videos on sanding Simpson doors, it seems people would just sand the new Simpson doors lightly with a palm sander..
Maybe it is just my inexperience with sanding and finishing to blame?

So let me ask any who has experience with the Dalys Benite product.. lets say That I sanded the door more rigorously, until it was totally smooth?
no high points at all?
Then I applied the Dalys Benite and waited 12-24 hours to dry.. and sanded as per instructions; Do you think it would have a whitish scuffed appearance "evenly" across wood? or no whitish hazy at all?

Let me ask this.. if YOU were sanding a new Fir door like this, would you use what I used? a Makita 1/4 sheet Finishing Sander? (like mine) Or would you use an orbital sander? how many passes with electric palm sander would you make over product? would you apply a lot of pressure? would there have been a lot of saw dust after?
Considering this is a veneer?

So the other option here is to just stain it now and hope that the stain will not show the streaks at all? they will just disappear?

Thank you for any & all advice

I use benite all the time mostly on alder but sometimes doing fir, never see what you described. Sand to 120 grit (this means start with 80-100. using light pressure. Let the paper do the work), vaccum dust then a thin coat of benite. After it's dry it just needs a light scuff sand.

I don't think your sanding well before applying the benite. Go get some scrap Doug fir and practice a few times. Maybe have some one at your paint store show you how.

Also do note that benite needs to be used once it's opened. Like all oil products it will turn bad when exposed to oxygen over time.