How to Stain Unfinished Furniture

You can really create a beautiful room if you get unfinished furniture and stain it yourself. Plan your furniture color to match the woodwork of the room. Imagine the wood trim and the wood furniture all matching instead of being a random collection of dark and light stains on oak, maple, cherry, walnut, or other woods. Look at samples of the stains on different woods at your paint store. After an afternoon of staining furniture, those antique collecting neighbors might just be a bit envious of your brand new furnishings.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Stain of your choice
• rags
• brush
• plastic gloves
• paint can opener
• stir stick
• tarp or newspapers
• (maybe) Q-tips

1. Familiarize yourself with the looks of different stains on different woods. Although stains may go by the same name, for example: "cherry", the stains produced by different companies probably won't look the same. Pick the color and the manufacturer of your stain carefully. Each wood type will take the stain differently as well.

2. Prepare your work area with a cover for the floor and plenty of ventilation. Set the piece to be stained in the middle of the floor cover. Open the can and put on the gloves. Then stir the stain so the solids settled on the bottom are mixed into the oil.

3. 
    
   Don't leave edge lines.

   Pick a single piece of wood on the furniture and brush the stain on that piece. Then wipe the excess off quickly with the rag. Leaving a spot of stain on the wood too long can leave a dark line or spot that won't wipe out. Move on to the next part of the furniture.

4. If there are any designs carved in the wood, be sure the stain covers all the wood evenly. Q-tips may help if there are tight spots you can't reach with the rag. Don't be guilty of either extreme: leaving the carving unstained, or stained too dark by not cleaning out the excess.

5. When finished, look over the piece to be sure you didn't miss anything, and then let it dry for at least a day. Clean your tools and put everything away. After sufficient drying time you can use your newly stained table or chair in your home.

[Danarax]

on 9/17/2009 Good information, thanks