Staining Tip

[kennelmaster]

First of all, I am a newbie and probably don't have any place giving tips. But as I am learning this addicting hobby, necessity becomes the mother of invention. Here is something that worked for me.

I did a little carve that had a very close/narrow groove that I wanted to stain. Getting a stain filled cloth into the groove was hopeless. So... I loaded up a syringe with stain and shot it into the groove. I rolled the excess around and up the sides. Then I used the compressor air to blow out the excess. Perfectly, evenly stained. Feed stores, pharmacys and the like will have syringes if you don't have access. Give it a try!

Warm regards,


Paul;)

[rncurrie]

That sounds like a winner to me.

[DickB]

What brand of stain do you use? I usually use Minwax. It is very thin - brush on, wipe off, a lot of it gets adsorbed.

[kennelmaster]

What brand of stain do you use? I usually use Minwax. It is very thin - brush on, wipe off, a lot of it gets adsorbed.

I use MINWAX also, I usually use a cloth to apply rather than a brush.

[cestout]

Great idea!! While we are on Minwax stain - stain your poplar projects(and pine for that matter) with Minwax oil base natural stain first , then with the intended darker stain. It won't be as dark, but it won't be blotchy.
Clint

[gwizpro]

We make our products out of Poplar and we use Sherwin Williams Wiping Stains. We apply the stain directly (wiping with rag) and we get no blotching, in fact you can stop staining in the middle of a project , go get a cup of coffee and start where you left off without any overlapping or lines. We have been using it for years and it does poplar very very well. Works just as great on regular pine too......

[DickB]

Minwax also has a preconditioner for this.

[b.sumner47]

I use min-wax as well, wiping it on with a soft colth.


Capt Barry

[mtylerfl]

We make our products out of Poplar and we use Sherwin Williams Wiping Stains. We apply the stain directly (wiping with rag) and we get no blotching, in fact you can stop staining in the middle of a project , go get a cup of coffee and start where you left off without any overlapping or lines. We have been using it for years and it does poplar very very well. Works just as great on regular pine too......

I like all the tips presented here!

Questions about the Sherwin Williams Wiping Stains...are they similar to gel-stains? Also, I Googled to find out more info and saw a couple descriptions saying the Sherwin Williams Wiping Stains reduce a "traditional six-step process" to a "four-step process". I have no idea what they are talking about. What is a "traditional six-step process" for applying stains? Do they mean sealer, stain, top-coat? I'm guessing not...that's only three steps.
:?:

[gwizpro]

The Sherwin Williams stains are are pigmented, oil-based stains . They can be top coated within 1 hour.
These are the steps:
1. Stain
2. Top Coat
3. Light sand
4. Top Coat ( Add additional coats as desired)
These are the steps we use and we are able to achieve a very very nice final finish.

We use Sherwin Williams Water Based Lacquer in a what is called a Dull Rub Finish.

Over the years nearly all our customers have requested a dull sheen finish.

These finishes are meant for indoor use only and would not work for exterior applications.

We are a production environment and we needed finishes that were easy and fast to use.
These products fulfill this requirement

They are HAPS compliant and since the Lacquer is water based, it doesn't have those nasty fumes.

Tom

[mtylerfl]

Thanks for the additional info, Tom. I'll have to try the Sherwin Williams Water Based Lacquer, too! (I visited your website. The finishes you achieve are wondeful!)

[cestout]

How does wiping work on an intricately carved piece - for instance the end of the POM tray with the roses?
Clint

[gwizpro]

On intricately carved pieces we soak our wiping cloth and flood the area, then wipe up as much as can and then we blow it with compressed air, and then a finish wipe.
We have stained items much intricate then the current POM without any problems. The stain just does what you want it to do....

[TerryT]

Great idea!! While we are on Minwax stain - stain your poplar projects(and pine for that matter) with Minwax oil base natural stain first , then with the intended darker stain. It won't be as dark, but it won't be blotchy.
Clint

Excellent tip Clint. I have tried the stain preps but have never been happy with them. We started using the natural stain first on flat sawn pine and poplar a while back. It works great to get an even stain. On quarter sawn wood I just use the primary color stain by itself.

[dehrlich]

Another idea for applying stain to difficult areas... if you get one of those empty spray bottles (I get mine from ACE), like for window cleaner and so on... fill it with your stain then just spray it on. I use this for big areas like when I finish book shelf boards and backs before they are assembled. Much faster to spray on than brush or wipe and you don't have to keep going back to the can. It can get messy if you are not careful I found out the hard way. I use Minwax almost all the time and it's plenty thin enough to spray.