Stain not staining!

[Dave Buchholz]

I'm running into a problem trying to stain some dowels for my port area.

I have a couple of cans of Minwax in greyish colors that I tried. But the color is not penetrating. It's acting more like paint on the wood, rather staining into the wood.

Any suggestions as to what I should be using instead? Maybe ink and alcohol?  Got a formula to share?

Your comments are appreciated.

[Rick]

Maybe try sanding and lightly roughing up the dowels first?

[jbvb]

If you have A&I handy, try it on a dowel or two. Some of the Minwax colors use dissolved pigments, others appear insoluble. The latter needs a porous surface.

[Jerry]

Dave 

On my dowels I grain them first and I use Silverwood.
One or two coats depending on how dark I want the color to look.

Jerry

[IWannaRetire]

I'm running into a problem trying to stain some dowels for my port area.

I have a couple of cans of Minwax in greyish colors that I tried. But the color is not penetrating. It's acting more like paint on the wood, rather staining into the wood.

Any suggestions as to what I should be using instead? Maybe ink and alcohol?  Got a formula to share?

Your comments are appreciated.

Dave, as a 1:1 woodworker, I strongly suspect it is the nature of the timber species the dowels you have are milled from.  Some woods, primarily because of the nature of the pores, but also other grain properties and characteristics, are indeed difficult to get an even stain penetration. 

A short list is aspen, maple, cherry, birch, poplar, and pine.

One solution is to use a conditioner. Since you are using Minwax products, my suggestion is that you try theirs:

https://www.minwax.com/en/search?q=wood+conditioner

[deemery]

Dowels are often made of birch, I think, so Mark's list is appropriate.  And his suggestion of a conditioner is a good one. 

dave