thomas291•2mo agoMost Upvoted

Eco-stain keeps peeling off my reclaimed pine door

I'm fixing up an old barn door with reclaimed pine wood. I sanded it smooth and put on a low-VOC stain. Now the stain is peeling in spots. Has anyone seen this before? I want to keep things green but need advice.

3 comments

3 Comments

the_riley2mo ago

Old pine like that can be full of natural resins... I ran into something similar on a hundred-year-old floorboard. Even after sanding, those hidden spots of sap or old finish repel new stain. What worked for me was wiping the whole thing down with a shellac-based sealer before the stain... it locks in the weird stuff. The low-VOC stuff is tricky because it doesn't have the strong chemicals to bite into problem wood.

the_jenny2mo ago

Try a light sanding after the shellac to help the stain stick better.

ericfox2mo ago

That shellac trick sounds like overkill for basic pine.