For some reason it seems as though a lot
of brand new woodworkers get the urge to stain their projects I partially credit
those TV remodeling shows for this popularity Now there isn't anything wrong
with wood staining but there are some misconceptions about it and how to use
it that I thought I'd clear up my goodness Steve and this is Woodworking
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video to get you started before staining wood Ask yourself why you want to change
its color One of the decisions that goes into selecting a type of wood for a
project is its natural color when we're talking about hardwoods such as maple
walnut oak etc Most woodworkers prefer to show off the natural wood tones with
a clear topcoat only Seeing thing the grain and color pop immediately after applying
a protective finish is super satisfying and wood will darken over time Here's
what cherry looks like after just a few years so while staining hardwoods isn't
unheard of there are instances when you might need to match existing furniture
or slightly alter the shade it's pretty unusual but keep in mind these are just
personal preferences if you like the colors you get by staining any kind of
wood and they make you happy go for it don't limit yourself to arbitrary
woodworking rules when it comes to aesthetics Personally I sometimes like
to stain oak with a golden oak stain It gives it
rich natural color that doesn't look fake The whole idea behind stain is that
you can color the wood but not cover up the grain the way paint does wood stains
are probably most commonly used on pine boards and plywood Typically pine is the
cheapest lumber you could buy and a light color can make it seem like a
blank canvas it seems so commonplace that we may feel the need to make it
appear more sophisticated by adding some color again keep in mind like all woods
pine will also darken over time to a rich yellowish hue
I think pine is a beautiful highly underrated species and can look
fantastic with just a clear finish consider it embracing its character
feature boards with knots and unusual grain patterns but sometimes people
might find pine just too rustic looking and since it's pretty inexpensive why
not experiment with some color this makes sense and trying out different
stain colors could be a lot of fun some stains can look unnatural When you go to
the home sitter or hardware store to select a color you'll see all kinds of
samples but in my experience they don't really look much like the wood species
their names imply but again if a bold dyed look is what you like own it for a
more natural look go more subtle with shades a slight alteration to a woods
color can go a long way on the entire project Stains don't protect wood stains color
wood aside from some stains that come with a polyurethane blend or say color
danish oil you will need to apply a top coat over your stain to protect the wood
from UV damage scratches spills etc for some reason a lot of people begin
woodworking thinking that staining wood is a requirement for her completed
project mostly they're confusing wood stain with a wood finish and I do
believe a protective wood finish is a requirement for most woodworking
projects Another thing to keep in mind is that once you commit to a color and
apply it to your project that deed is done there is no undo button
unlike paint which just sits on top of the wood and could be sanded off wood
stain penetrates deep into the fibers of the wood like a sponge absorbing water
make sure you sand the wood well before applying stain any scratches will be
enhanced by stain sanding will also help open up the pores of the wood so that
they can better absorb the stain start out with 80 grit to remove big scratches
and imperfections then move up to 120 and finally 220 grit sandpaper make sure
you remove any sanding dust from the surface vacuuming is ideal to remove any
dust from inside those wood pores you cannot just brush on a coat of stain
like you would paint and just wait for it to dry you'll end up frustrated and
disappointed when parts of it still feel sticky after a few days when wood has
absorbed all the stain at once the rest just sits on the surface and doesn't
like to drive to prevent this from happening you must wipe off the excess
stain after applying it By the way this isn't just some woodworking hack the
label on the can will tell you exactly how to apply stain correctly so read it
The applicator you choose for applying stain doesn't matter you can certainly
use a brush if you like but I would rather use a foam brush because they're
cheap and disposable and they make cleanup a lot easier but
go-to method for applying a stain is to use a rag Old t-shirts are great for
this but sometimes I just use a paper towel for smaller projects the idea is
to get plenty of stain all over the surfaces then wait a short time for it
to soak in Usually twenty or thirty minutes is fine then this is the
important part wipe everything down with a clean rag if you want the shade to be
a little bit darker you can apply a second coat this one won't soak in as
much since the pores of the wood are mostly saturated so you can wipe it off
after maybe 10 minutes or so I don't usually apply two coats wood
stains have a nasty habit of distributing themselves unevenly on soft
woods such as pine which causes blotching this is especially cruel since
pine is most likely the kind of wood you want to stain to reduce blotching you
need to apply a wood conditioner or sealer before applying stain stain
manufacturers will recommend their own conditioners or you could use shellac as
a sealer coat under oil based stains basically a conditioner will stabilise
the wood to allow the stain to penetrate more evenly to use wood conditioner just
quickly brush it or wipe it on and let it penetrate and then wipe it off just
like you would with a stain the only difference here is that you need to
apply the stain before the conditioner completely dries usually within two
hours or so the biggest question that comes up here
is can you apply an oil finish such as polyurethane over a water-based stain
and vice versa Technically as long as the stain is completely dry you may have
to wait give it a few days any topcoat will work fine personally I prefer not
to chance mixing oil and water products and will use oil finishes over oil
stains and water-based finishes over water-based stains and with lacquer I've
never had problems applying it over either type of stain.
Thanks for watching
everybody.