Choosing and Applying the Finish (Part Two)

Stain Finishes

Wood is stained to emphasize grain and natural figure. Many professionals use stain when wood has little natural beauty of color or graining. Most stains give the wood surface little or no protection, so you may want to use a protective finish as well.

For proper staining, the wood surface must be uniformly smooth, clean, and free of any old finish or wax. Try to work on surfaces horizontally; when you must work on a vertical surface, work from the bottom up with continuous edge-to-edge stroke paralleling the grain to minimize drips and overlap marks.

Water stains give a clear, sharp tone with deep penetration. They have the broadest range of brilliant, warm-toned colors. Their disadvantage is that they raise the grain and require at least 24 hours drying time.

Spirit (alcohol) stains penetrate well, but are slightly less permanent, extremely fast drying, and generally cooler in tone than water dyes. Clean rages make good applicators.

Non-grain-raising stains (“N.G.R” stains) can be either water or spirit stains with non-grain-raising solvents used. They are usually faster-drying than water stains and less difficult to use than spirit stains. They penetrate deeply, are light-fast, dry quickly, and are easy to apply with either brush or rag. A rag gives more even tone; a brush works well on small areas. Uneven finish can be cured by wiping a rag dipped in special stained thinner. Non-grain-raising stains will bleed through finish coats unless sealed with wash coat of shellac. Drying time is about 4 hours.
Pigmented wiping stains, very much like thin paints, have ground pigments suspended in a vehicle. They are used to accentuate the grain pattern by color fill-in of the open pores, to mask the natural grain pattern in favor of an overall color, or to simulate another wood.

They may be easily applied with brush, and should be wiped with clean rage soon after the application. The longer you delay wiping, the stronger the color. They do not raise wood grain or affect finishing coats.

Fillers

Fillers allow you to give a smooth finish to woods with uneven grains and pores. As purchased, they must be thinned with turpentine or other manufacturer-recommended thinner.

Apply with a stiff brush, working filler well into the grain. When the surface appears dull, wipe across the grain with a piece of burlap. Allow the filled surface to harden for 24 hours before giving it a light sanding.

Before filling the wood, you may want to apply a wash coat of thin shellac to prevent filler from staining the wood and to keep stains from seeping into the filler. Do not use fillers over a wax finish.

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