Home and Garden | Applying Pigmented Stain - Wall Covering

Though application methods may vary for different brands and types of stain, the basic idea is the same: Saturate the wood with stain, and wipe off the excess. The recommended drying and penetration times determine how quickly you must work, and how large an area you can stain before wiping. Though these times may vary among stains, the process remains similar.

Regardless of the stain you use, make sure you've prepared the surface properly before committing the stain to the wood. Once the stain is on, it's difficult to go back and try to deal with surface problems like cross-grain scratches, orbital sander swirl marks and other blemishes. These problems are best dealt with before you begin staining.

Make sure all the old finish or glue is removed (residue will prevent the stain from penetrating the wood), and that the wood is free from dust and dirt. Work in a well-ventilated area and wear latex gloves and a NIOSH-approved respirator when working with chemicals.

Before you stain wood using a liquid stain, determine if the wood should be preconditioned with a washcoat. A washcoat partially seals the wood to control stain penetration. You might want to washcoat wood for any number of reasons:

Resin-rich woods like pine or cherry may absorb stain unevenly, resulting in a blotchy appearance. Applying a washcoat will create a more even appearance.
If a piece has a lot of end grain exposed where the stain will penetrate deeply, causing these areas to get too dark, a washcoat will limit that stain penetration.
A washcoat may be used to keep the color lighter, fine-tune a color or match a color to another one by reducing stain penetration.
A washcoat also can help play down the impact of a wood's grain or pattern.

PROJECT BASICS

Project: Easy
Estimated Project Time: Half-hour per coat
Estimated Project Cost: $16 materials; $35 tools
Start Tips: To check the wood for problems before staining, wet it down with mineral spirits and examine the wood while it's wet.
Safety Tips: Dispose of stain-soaked rags properly.
Recommendation: Do-it-Yourself

INSTRUCTIONS

Applying the stain
These steps for stain application are general and subject to label instructions for the particular stain you are using. Because it's hard to know how wood will take a stain until you apply it, try to test it on an inconspicuous area to find out whether you need to precondition the wood and how much stain to apply to achieve the desired effect. Work in a well-ventilated area.

Fig. 3

4) Wipe excess stain
Using a clean, soft rag, wipe off the excess stain that has not penetrated the wood surface. Wipe with the grain when possible (Fig. 3). To allow the stain to add more color to the wood, use a lighter wiping action, smoothing out the color pigment on the wood surface with a soft rag. To keep the stain from affecting the wood color as much, use a heavy wiping action to remove more of the stain pigment from the wood's surface.

Apply additional coats as necessary to achieve the desired effect.