I started a new project on friday. It consists of a long credenza, 2 large bookcases, 1 small bookcase and a large conference table. The veneer on this job is sapeli, Honduras mahogany solid with a maple inlay. The client wants the maple inlay stained yellow so the maple must be masked off before spraying the water stain. (This would also be the technique if you wanted the inlay left natural) I used 3M fine line tape burnished to the raw maple. The tape must be removed the same day.

The mahogany stain is WD Lockwood water based dye stain.
The formula is:

24 oz hot water
1 teaspoon #5230 Lemon Yellow
1/2 teaspoon #52 conc. bright red
1/2 teaspoon #57 Chippendale red brown

This is a picture just after the water stain was sprayed on, notice the slight puddling.

The top on the right has water stain sprayed on it and is almost dry.

The cabinet makers chipped the veneer and tried to fix it using bondo. Bondo doesn't stain when using water stain so now I need to camouflage their repair.

I like Stabilo 8045 pencils (china markers) for this. I use black or brown most of the time. Mohawks blendal sticks work well also.

This is the counter top for the long credenza. You can only check your color when the water stain is wet or after it has been sealed. ( A little solvent will also work in a pinch)

The tape has been removed from the maple after sealing the mahogany. Since I am using water stain I can stain the maple now without masking.

Even with burnishing, since I am working on un-sealed wood, there will be some bleed through of the stain. I use a razor blade as a scraper and remove any of this.

This is after the yellow stain has been applied to the maple inlay.
The yellow stain formula is:
1 quart hot water
1 teaspoon #5230 Lemon Yellow WD Lockwood water based dye stain

Everything has a coat of sealer in this picture.

There are a lot of shelves on this project. This is one of the drying racks that allow me stain and finish all of the shelves at once and it also keeps dust out of the finish while drying.