Don’t Ruin Your Woodworking: Learn How to Stain Wood with Oil Based Stains
The first process in staining wood is making sure the proper amount of time was spent in preparing the surface of your woodworking project.
Before applying any stain, try to break up your project into zones. By zones, I mean areas of the project that can be stained without having to overlap the stain from another area. For example: If you have a table to finish, then you would want to stain the table top as a zone, then one sides’ table skirt and a leg at a time.
The reason for this is, any place the stain overlaps will be darker. Also, if you have a big woodworking project and stain it all at once, then the first area to which stain was applied might end up darker than the last area to which it was applied. The longer you let stain sit on wood before it is wiped off, the more is soaked up by the pores, thus the darker the finish. It usually takes less time to wipe the stain off than to apply, so by applying the stain in zones instead of to the whole project at one time, which can make the stain penetration unevenly, you will end up with an even, professional looking stain job .
Now that you have the zones figured out, start by using a clean lint-free rag to wipe the stain on, or you can use a paint brush which makes it easier to get into corners or into molding details.
Wipe stain off promptly and check the results. If it needs to be darker then repeat this process until satisfied. Now you know whether to leave the stain on longer or not on the next zones. It is easier to do it this way than to leave the stain on too long the first time and having to sand or strip the stain off and start again.
Tip: If you do happen to overlap your stain, while the overlap area is still wet, take a dry, clean cloth and wipe area repeatedly to blend. You may have to wipe the area again with more stain and immediately repeat the wiping with a clean cloth.
Once you are happy with the stain you have applied, follow the stain manufacturers instructions as far as drying time before the top coat is applied.
You will follow these staining tips for new wood or furniture you may be refinishing.
Good luck with staining your woodworking projects.
