Rustic Beam Project - Question On Staining

[Tidybuoy]

I have a question on staining wood. I stained my beams that I made and there are a couple of spots where the stain did not soak in, causing a couple of light spots. I'm wondering if I touch up these few areas and allow to soak in, will I be creating dark spots and should I just re-stain the entire beam.

Any Advice?

Photos below show the project start to Current Status. Last photos show my problem areas:

Almost Finished but before Polyurethane:


In the Beginning: Opened up Wall, Installed GluLam Beam


Constructed Beam Box Covers:


Burning & Distressing:


First Pass Staining:


First Issue: Stain Did Not Soak In Completely


Second Spot Not Soaking In:

[Captain Ahab Jr]

Love the distressing and aging, looks great

What about using a fine modelling brush to carefully just touch up just the light areas

[Bill Douglas]

Part of the rustic-ness. Looks great already.

[drcoastline]

First, excellent work it looks great.

The grain areas that are lighter are due to a tighter grain and higher resin content baring the stain from pentrating.

You would probably be better off getting a stain pen or even a brown Sharpie and going over the areas that are most bothersome to you.

I am not really sure a stain pain will do any better of a job then regular stain. A brown Sharpie will ay the brown ink ontop of the grain.

From the one picture I don't know I would do anything.

[Sooner or later]

Leave it as is. Looks great.

[Arizona_928]

Might want to thin out the stain with an organic solvent.

I stain a lot of wood with used diesel oil cut with diesel to thin it out. Looks really good

[chrismorse]

I have wrapped beams and done a moderate amount of staining/refinishing. My recommendation is to shoot the pics to the manufacturers tech/service department and ask for their advice.
It would be a sad waste to gum up/disolve/or discolor what you have worked so hard on. I am a little gun shy, having just started into automotive painting and all of the incompatibilities/problems with different chemysteries:-)

I have no experience with distressed finishes.

Good Luck
chris

[looneybin]

Leave the light spots, looks more natural

[Tidybuoy]

Installed! 2 coats of satin poly, I may do one more but the beams currently feel great. This is much darker than my original plan but I'm happy with how it turned out.

Next step is to add brick on each side of the opening. I'm using a product called BrickWeb and I will get that done this week. Just an accent (4' on the right side and 6' on the left). I'll be glad when I get this project finished - hopefully by January.





Next Step - BrickWeb:

[Tidybuoy]

My first wall with Brick. I still have to mortar which I will do later this week. This weekend I will finish the other wall on the left side of the opening.

Laying out and cutting to size:


Still have to Mortar:

[Bill Douglas]

The house is shaping up nicely Vern.

[Captain Ahab Jr]

Looks great Vern, I'm envious of the 'lightweight' building materials you're using to achieve that heavyweight look!

[Tidybuoy]

Originally Posted by Captain Ahab Jr

Looks great Vern, I'm envious of the 'lightweight' building materials you're using to achieve that heavyweight look!

Before installing the vertical beam covers, I added 2x4's to the doorway that completely fills the cover. It's amazing how solid the covers feel - no hollowness at all and they seem very believable that they are actual beams. The brick is also very solid feeling. I'm glad to finally get this part of the project done.