Things You'll Need:
- stain,clean cloths,stain brush
-
Step 1
Staining wood furniture is generally easy to do as long as you prepare the wood and keep it clean. If you don't, the piece of furniture will quite often look uneven in color or streaked.
You can get products that are a combined pigment and finish that dry quickly generally use min -wax stains, which you can get in flat to gloss finishes. There are vinyl or aniline stains, and many more that are quick to dry, but are not for the amateur, because they dry before you can get the effect that you want. It's just like most things if you want it fast you will lose some quality.
There are pigmented oil finishes, that generally give good color. -
Step 2
My favorite is a Min-wax wood finish wood stain in polyshades stain and polyurethane in 1 step, it is an oil based wood stain there are several other quality stains you can use, they give you allot of control. Always pick a color no darker than you want the furniture to be. If the furniture is too light you can always apply more stain and let it penetrate longer. If the color you want is in between the colors available, you can mix oil stains to get your desired color. The cans of stain will have a color label on them
Oil stain can be applied with a brush I like throw away brushes, cloth, roller,, or by any other means as long as you get it on evenly. After applying, wipe the excess off with a clean dry cloth ,make sure you wipe the stain good so you don't leave any access stain and let the furniture dry overnight. Make sure you apply the stain outside the fumes can be pretty strong Min-wax makes a gloss stain that dries with a nice look. If needed you can apply a clear finish for more protection. If you want a darker look you can use a fine grit sandpaper after the stain has dried, lightly sand it down and wipe the dust off the furniture and apply another coat. -
Step 3
I highly suggest you wear a pair or 2 of rubber gloves to keep the stain off you hands and remember to place you furniture on a drop cloth.
Exposed bare wood is very susceptible to moisture and needs to be sealed or stained.
Natural finishes, lacquer, shellac, oils, are flexible and can withstand the constant stretching, shrinking, and hot and cold. That's part of the reason for joints loosening and why hard polyurethane will crack along a joint line or seams in the wood.
These are just a few tips on staining wood I am sure there are many more but these are the ones I like to work with.
Comments
chrisanimelo444 said
on 8/5/2009 Thanks for the information!
SchoolOfLife said
on 3/13/2009 I wish I had read this sooner. Great tips here!
PawPawFrankie said
on 12/30/2008 Great tips and advice
georgelarson said
on 12/30/2008 Good article. Thanks for sharing.
jamaclassics said
on 12/30/2008 Another Min-Wax fan here. This is quite good. I found an old scotch brite pad is good between coats, followed by a tack cloth to get the dusty bits.