Furniture, Wood and Cabinetry Finishing - varathane on stain

I'm adding to existing kitchen cabinets, building an extension with drawers. The cabinet base is laminated oak. The drawer faces are solid oak. A light pickled stain Old Masters was applied to both. The solid wood came closer as a match. I applied the first coat of Flecto Varathane. The drawers (sold oak) came out fine but the laminated cabinet came out considerably darker. There were a few runs and they were dark brown. I used a new brush, but the varathane was an open and used for another project. Could I have picked up some dark stain pigment from another project that found it's way into the varathane? Why, then are the drawer fronts fine?

thanks

If the solid wood was closer match than the plywood, it would have been that way after finishing. Runs are darker because they are thicker than the rest of the surface. You should not have runs on your work.

Depending upon placement, lighting on the faee of a drawer will cause a different effect that lighting on the sides of a cabinet at a different level. Depending upon the grade of plywood, the effects of staining may be different. If the plywood is book matched or rift sawn it will look different than plywood that is peeled. The grain is more open when peeled or roll cut than when matched or rift sawn. The roll cut plywood has a more open grain, in general, so the stain and finish actually have a bit more surface area in the grain than the solid wood has. The plywood would have picked up more of the stain.

Wood gives varying degrees of match when stained and finished. Look at the pieces in the the same light to get a better feel for the differences. When I stain a complex piece of a project with more than one piece or surface to it, I make a sample block of the actual wood, stained and finished. I use this as a guide to stain application so that it all comes out the same. Holding the block against the wood as I work makes sure that I am using the reference in the same light as where I am staining. Just using the stain straight up from the can is not proof against variations. Using a sample block helps keep it all the same.

Hope this helps.

thanks Chris, good advice!