# Staining beech to look like walnut



## vapingvision (26 Jul 2013)

Hello guys, 

In the process of building a small utility room. I've got walnut in the main kitchen but can't afford for the utility room. Wickes have got some 3m beech tops in @ £90.

Is it possible to stain the beech to look similar to the walnut, I've read that Vandyke Crystals can be used to darken wood to the desired colour. I was then going to finish with 3-5 coats of finishing oil.

I used finishing oil on the walnut and I couldn't be happier with the finish / performance.

I've also read that I need to remove the finish that the manufactures would have put into the beech, before staining, would this mean sanding the beech right back, then applying stain, then apply finish?

Thank you in advance for any advice.

Best Regards

James


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## Leif (26 Jul 2013)

I stained some beech, and I thought the result was not so good. I have some professionally made beech chairs, stained mid oak, and again I do not like the result. Sometimes it stains nicely, with lovely long grain. Sometimes you get a sort of stippled effect. It seems to depend on the nature of the grain, which I suppose depends on how the wood was cut. Personally I think beech is an attractive wood, and it is best oiled or varnished, with no stain. Enjoy the natural wood, and the contrast with walnut.


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## vapingvision (26 Jul 2013)

To be honest, in many respects I haven't really got time for the faff, but I just haven't found anything I remotely like in laminate, other than one in Howdens, Iroko Block Effect, but they wanted £200 after discount for a laminate!!!!!!! Or so I was told by the Pal who I asked to get a price for me.

Thanks for your advice.

J


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## [email protected] (26 Jul 2013)

strangely for someone who works with wood for a living i would never ever have a wooden worktop. Why? 1) needs treating with care 2) needs to much maintainance 3) unhygenic due to trapping of dirt and grime in the surface. I bet if you did a swab test on a wooden worktop compared to a laminate one, the laminate would be cleaner by miles. Laminate worktop = fit and forget. Wooden workstop = fit and forever fret about its appearance!

edit
oops sorry forget the original question  in my experience beech never stains well. In fact its a hard job full stop to make one wood look like another and even if you manage it, within 2 years it'll look sh*t due to fading etc


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## vapingvision (27 Jul 2013)

I really love the walnut ones that I've got, okay I don't have kids to worry about taking chunks out of them, just a good women! We've had a couple of mishaps but on the whole they've still look excellent. The finishing oil I used has given them a top layer than could feel like laminate.

I a pal of mine installed Oak, I told him to maybe try finshing oil, but it used something else, unknown, and it's left a much course finish. I could imagine the coarseness would hide the narstys. 

Back to a hunt for a look-a-like laminate I guess


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## woodbrains (27 Jul 2013)

[email protected]":z4t4g2xb said:


> strangely for someone who works with wood for a living i would never ever have a wooden worktop. Why?..... unhygenic due to trapping of dirt and grime in the surface. I bet if you did a swab test on a wooden worktop compared to a laminate one, the laminate would be cleaner by miles.



Hello,

What a peculiar supposition, especially since the opposite is true. As I have said in another thread, wood actually contains extractives that continue to have germ killing properties indefiitely. Wood chopping boards are actually _more_ hygenic than plastic ones, in fact. (it is cross contamination that is the problem with ALL chopping boards, wood has incorrctly been associated with food poisoning, when it is fact bad food preperation that was the problem) Of couse plastic laminates are the traditional material for worktops, wood being a new fashion fad and not tested for suitability in that role!

Not that this is an issue, since when you put a finish on the wood, it essentially ceases to be a wooden surface.

Dye is the thing to use for beech, rather than stain. Van Dyke crystals are a form of water based dye, but there are alternatives. Liberon do a good spirit dye in wood colours that you might find convenient. Stain is basically a pigment which needs pores to lodge in, to impart colour. Beech has no real pores, which is why stain is no good. check to see if the Wickes beech worktops are finised with anything, as this would have to come off prior to dying. They may not be, they don't seem to advertise the fact.

If it were me, after dying, I would finish the tops with a film forming finish rather than oil, as a utility room will be steamy and the dye will not be very deep in the wood, so a scratch would reveal the pale beech underneath. A good oil poly will give hard wearing protection.

Mike.


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## Leif (27 Jul 2013)

I've tried oil based wood dye and coloured Danish Oil on beech, and neither looked good, with some blotchy areas due to the grain. And beech has some nice unusual grain which is lost with dye/stain. 

I was about to say the same thing about wood and hygiene. The reason why hardwoods such as beech take decades to decade even when exposed to the elements is because the wood is full of toxins designed to keep out decay causing agents such as fungi and bacteria. As the other poster has said, a beech cutting board is very hygienic. That said, oiled wood is probably encased in a layer of cured oil. If you use a non hardening oil, such as olive oil, then there might be issues with hygiene. But my guess is that the cured oil surface is no worse than formica. In any case, you should not be putting raw food, apart from unprepared veg say, on a worktop. All cutting should be done on a board/block.


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