Soundboard Finishing

[Lance Lafargue]

I know this won't be as much fun as all the bantering on the list lately,
but the last couple of soundboards I've repaired came out very inconsistent
in color.  I usually use the Spurlock shimming system and put a light coat
of Deft to finish.  I have tried oil stains, touchup pens, dyes, etc.  The
last one had a couple of previous shims in it, so I had old soundboard color
(varied), old shim color, new shim color.  Yikes!  I tried a softwood
preparation by Minwax (for even stain absorption), then Minwax stains, but
__as soon as anything is put on the board, it gets dark__ and inconsistent.
Any suggestions? I don't have this problem with some boards.  Thanks!!

Lance Lafargue, RPT
Mandeville, LA
New Orleans Chapter, PTG
lancelafargue@bellsouth.net