Wood Staining Techniques

Most people prefer to leave wood as it is because the natural color of wood is itself quite elegant. However, if you are setting up your house and want the furniture to match the rest of the décor, wood staining is a good option, whereby you can customize the wood color as per your choice to suit your taste. By mastering wood staining, one can have great polished furniture at home, without having to depend on professionals whose charges are very steep. However, it is quite a complex task and several wood staining problems follow, which need to be kept in mind while carrying out the staining process. Problems like uneven staining of the wood, conducing to several light and dark areas that spoils the ultimate finish arise in the course of wood staining. However, these problems can be handled.

How to Stain Wood

Material Required

• Wood or any piece of furniture that requires to be polished
• Damp cloth
• Sandpaper (coarse and fine)
• Stain (color of your choice)
• Brush/ rag/ pad
• Wood conditioner

There are three types of stains for one to choose from: oil based stains, water-based stains and gel based stains. The oil based stains penetrate well and protect the wood from damage in the future, however, these stains take almost 24 hours or more to dry. Thus, they can be reserved for larger projects. For smaller projects one can go for the water-based stains that dry quickly in less than a day. If the wooden item you are dealing with is of troublesome nature, then the best stain is the gel based stains. Moreover, gel stains are good for fiberglass doors. So depending on your situation, choose the stain. It is this stain choice that determines the wood painting techniques going to be used during staining. Wood staining colors can be any color of your choice.

Instructions

Step 1: Wood Type Determination
The first step is determining the type of wood one is going to stain. If you are dealing with soft wood which has uneven wood grain, one should apply wood conditioner first on the wood, so that the end result is not some blotchy pattern. The conditioner will help the stain spread evenly. Thus, it is important to first identify the kind of wood.

Step 2: Sanding the Wood
The wood to be stained needs to be cleansed of dirt and grease. Using the sandpaper first with coarse sandpaper and then sand it again with fine sandpaper. This way you will have a fine surface for polishing. Then wipe away the lose debris by using the damp cloth.

Step 3: Choosing the Technique
Depending on the type of wood and the type of furniture in consideration, the wood staining technique will vary. The three different techniques are rag, brush or spraying technique. Let's have a look at these techniques.

Rag Wood Staining: If you are dealing with small projects then this technique is well suited. Just take the rag and dip it into the stain. Rub the stain onto the wood, such that you move along the grain of the wood. After liberal application, let the stain seep into the inner layers of the wood and then wipe off the excess stain with another clean rag. Mostly, this technique is suitable for flat surfaces.

Brush Wood Staining: For water-based stains, you will need a nylon brush, while bristle brushes are required for oil based stains. Depending on your stain, get the brush. The application method is the same as that of the rag one. Just paint in the direction of the grain and clean the excess off with a clean rag.

Spraying Wood Staining: It's not a very good idea to use this technique if you are a beginner. This method requires certain specific skills. The drawback of this technique is that one tends to spray too much stain too fast. This makes the wiping off excess stain even more stressful. If you still plan to go with the spraying method, then get a spray that has a very small nozzle.

Step 4: Drying and Finishing
Allow the stain to dry completely. The time required for drying will depend on the kind of stain used. Coat the dried stain with polyurethane so give a good finish.

Wood staining ideas are good if you are personally interesting in such wood related work. Those who have the knack for it will pick it up instantly. Wood staining techniques will not seem all that daunting once we have practiced it for a few times.