I'm ready to stain my first project. I understand that it is good to
clean it with a solvent such as mineral spirits to remove dirt and oils.
(please correct me if I'm wrong or if there is a better solvent to use).
I want to do this right and I've studied all the finishes and yet I
still am not sure of the best one to use. The project is a tray for
SWMBO. She intends to use it to throw keys, change, etc. in it. I would
like a satin finish but it really doesn't matter.
I have a polyurethane clear finish spray that I was going to apply over
the stain. Is this a decent type of finish or is there a better one to use?
FWIW, I went to a staining class but I learned too much. I understand
the application process pretty well but deciding on the best stain I
still find confusing.
Richard A.
A mineral spirits wash, or the natural stain Barry suggested are a few ways of
reducing the blotching tendency of pine, where some areas do not take the
stain evenly. However, I'd suggest getting one of Jewitt's finishing books and
look through that first. You can look at various samples and look through the
finishing schedule needed. Also test a scrap piece first to see how it looks.
Depending on the wood, the type of stain and what you're looking for, you may
need to try several methods to get the look you want.
Items you might miss: nobody asked what type of stain. Oil or water base, and
dye or pigment. Mix the wrong ones together, and it's rather mucky.
Edwin: On poly, other than Rockhard poly, I haven't seen much that'll tolerate
tossed keys, unless you keep it satin with little if any surface film. I think
that would work okay here, although the pine's rather soft.
Richard: A soft wood is a soft wood. Other than a thick coat of epoxy, no
finish on the surface will offer much protection. From very light surface
scratches, yes; but anything more depends mostly on the wood.
GerryG
On Sat, 01 Jan 2005 05:57:09 GMT, "Edwin Pawlowski" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>"Richard A." <[email protected]> wrote in message
>>
>> It's a white pine which makes me think I need the harder finish. I gave
>> my wife a selection of different woods with various stains and this is the
>> wood she picked.
>>
>> RA
>
>In that case, the mineral spirits will also help get the stain applied more
>evenly. Put the stain on within about 15 minutes of the wipe down.
>
Fri, Dec 31, 2004, 8:24pm (EST-1) [email protected] (Richard=A0A.)
claims:
<snip> I have a polyurethane clear finish spray that I was going to
apply over the stain. Is this a decent type of finish or is there a
better one to use?
I only tried it once, and the smell was so horrible I never tried
it again.
FWIW, I went to a staining class but I learned too much. I understand
the application process pretty well but deciding on the best stain I
still find confusing.
Now you're confusing me. Best stain would be whatever your wife
liked best, in my book.
Personally, I've been speerminting with natural stains - tea (which
gives some nice resluts), coffee (takes too long to dry), shoe polish
(diffrent brands, different results, I likeTurtle best). Food dye does
pretty well. Rit dye too. A latex "wash" can do nicely at times. You
speermint with scrap pieces, NOT the piece you're making.
JOAT
People without "things" are just intelligent animals.
"J T" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
...Personally, I've been speerminting with natural stains - tea (which
gives some nice resluts), coffee (takes too long to dry), shoe polish
(diffrent brands, different results, I likeTurtle best). Food dye does
pretty well. Rit dye too. A latex "wash" can do nicely at times. You
speermint with scrap pieces, NOT the piece you're making...
What has your experience been with the permanance of the Rit dyes? I am
thinking of trying some for a particular Customer need and the Rit Dye
Company Tech Services has no information, especially with respect to light
fastness.
Thanks.
Sun, Jan 2, 2005, 7:49pm [email protected] (Baron) asks:
What has your experience been with the permanance of the Rit dyes? I am
thinking of trying some for a particular Customer need and the Rit Dye
Company Tech Services has no information, especially with respect to
light fastness.
I haven't tried the Rit directly on wood - yet. I probably will
one of these days. However, I have heard of it being done, but no
followup on color fastness. The guy didn't pain it on tho, he boiled
the small pieces in the dye. I would have thought that was overkill. I
mixed some up with vegetable (cooking) oil - I think it was safflower
oil - and put it on a rocker. The rocker design turned out to be
terribly ugly, in my opinion, but I rather liked the finish. It didn't
come out quite as dark as I had hoped, but then again I only put on
about 2 coats. I'm pretty sure it would have darkened up with more
coats, as it did a bit after the first. I used red and black, and maybe
something other also, trying for a deep reddish color.
It's been maybe 5 or so years since I finished it, and it hasn't
been in direct sunlight, but I can't notice any fading.
For those who say vegetable oil will go rancid - I've been
experimenting with vegetable/cooking oils as a finish for years. If it
hasn't been heated, as cooked with, it doesn't go rancid. I even
directly communicated with a food scientist. It's all in the archives.
JOAT
People without "things" are just intelligent animals.
mac davis wrote:
> On Fri, 31 Dec 2004 20:24:30 -0600, "Richard A."
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>>I'm ready to stain my first project. I understand that it is good to
>>clean it with a solvent such as mineral spirits to remove dirt and oils.
>> (please correct me if I'm wrong or if there is a better solvent to use).
>>
>>I want to do this right and I've studied all the finishes and yet I
>>still am not sure of the best one to use. The project is a tray for
>>SWMBO. She intends to use it to throw keys, change, etc. in it. I would
>>like a satin finish but it really doesn't matter.
>>
>>I have a polyurethane clear finish spray that I was going to apply over
>>the stain. Is this a decent type of finish or is there a better one to use?
>>
>>FWIW, I went to a staining class but I learned too much. I understand
>>the application process pretty well but deciding on the best stain I
>>still find confusing.
>>
>>Richard A.
>
>
> for a newbie wanting a poly finish, I'd really, really recommend
> minwax rubbing poly (at all borgs for about $7 a can) over your
> stained pine..
>
> i use it a lot and love it.. comes in gloss and satin, I'd think that
> you'd want satin.. the nice thing about it is that instead of brushing
> on a coat or 2 of poly and coming out with something plastic coated
> with brush marks, you hand (gloves help!) wipe it like a natural oil
> and it builds up a warm satin finish that's very durable..
> My 1st use of it was about a year ago on a small redwood table out by
> the pool.. it survived a summer of 100+ degree days and most of a
> rainy winter and looks fine.. YMMV
>
>
> mac
>
> Please remove splinters before emailing
Thanks for the response. The finish you described sounds beautiful.
I'm looking forward to giving it a try.
RA
"Richard A." <[email protected]> wrote in message
>
> It's a white pine which makes me think I need the harder finish. I gave
> my wife a selection of different woods with various stains and this is the
> wood she picked.
>
> RA
In that case, the mineral spirits will also help get the stain applied more
evenly. Put the stain on within about 15 minutes of the wipe down.
"J T" <[email protected]> wrote in message
Personally, I've been speerminting with natural stains - tea (which
gives some nice resluts), coffee (takes too long to dry), shoe polish
(diffrent brands, different results, I likeTurtle best). Food dye does
pretty well. Rit dye too. A latex "wash" can do nicely at times. You
speermint with scrap pieces, NOT the piece you're making.
JOAT
People without "things" are just intelligent animals.
Holy beet juice Batman, you will put an enitre industry out of business if
you keep it up.
Sun, Jan 2, 2005, 6:43am (EST+5) [email protected] (Edwin=A0Pawlowski) says:
Holy beet juice Batman, you will put an enitre industry out of business
if you keep it up.
Yeah, but the food industry's gonna be booming.
JOAT
People without "things" are just intelligent animals.
Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
> "Richard A." <[email protected]> wrote in message
>
>>I'm ready to stain my first project. I understand that it is good to
>>clean it with a solvent such as mineral spirits to remove dirt and oils.
>
>
> It will work OK. I never use it, but you can.
>
>
>
>
>>I want to do this right and I've studied all the finishes and yet I still
>>am not sure of the best one to use. The project is a tray for SWMBO. She
>>intends to use it to throw keys, change, etc. in it. I would like a satin
>>finish but it really doesn't matter.
>
>
> What kind of wood? Maybe it would look better with no stain. Maybe just
> some tung oil followed by a coat of wax for a satin finish. Polyurethane is
> durable though and will stand up to the tossed keys.
Thanks for taking the time to reply.
It's a white pine which makes me think I need the harder finish. I gave
my wife a selection of different woods with various stains and this is
the wood she picked.
RA
Ba r r y wrote:
> On Fri, 31 Dec 2004 20:24:30 -0600, "Richard A."
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>
>>FWIW, I went to a staining class but I learned too much. I understand
>>the application process pretty well but deciding on the best stain I
>>still find confusing.
>
>
> Practice on scrap until you understand, even if you have to buy wood!
>
> Do every step from sanding to final finish to the test board, write
> down detailed descriptions of how you did each step. If something
> goes wrong, stop there and diagnose the problem, help is available
> here.
>
> DO NOT try the project if you're not comfortable! <G>
>
> Barry
Great advice, thanks a bunch.
RA
On Sun, 02 Jan 2005 06:43:20 GMT, "Edwin Pawlowski" <[email protected]>
wrote:
>Holy beet juice Batman, you will put an enitre industry out of business if
>you keep it up.
Bob Villa, national spokesman for beet juice stain.
See, that just doesn't work!
Barry
On Fri, 31 Dec 2004 20:24:30 -0600, "Richard A."
<[email protected]> wrote:
>I'm ready to stain my first project. I understand that it is good to
>clean it with a solvent such as mineral spirits to remove dirt and oils.
> (please correct me if I'm wrong or if there is a better solvent to use).
>
>I want to do this right and I've studied all the finishes and yet I
>still am not sure of the best one to use. The project is a tray for
>SWMBO. She intends to use it to throw keys, change, etc. in it. I would
>like a satin finish but it really doesn't matter.
>
>I have a polyurethane clear finish spray that I was going to apply over
>the stain. Is this a decent type of finish or is there a better one to use?
>
>FWIW, I went to a staining class but I learned too much. I understand
>the application process pretty well but deciding on the best stain I
>still find confusing.
>
>Richard A.
for a newbie wanting a poly finish, I'd really, really recommend
minwax rubbing poly (at all borgs for about $7 a can) over your
stained pine..
i use it a lot and love it.. comes in gloss and satin, I'd think that
you'd want satin.. the nice thing about it is that instead of brushing
on a coat or 2 of poly and coming out with something plastic coated
with brush marks, you hand (gloves help!) wipe it like a natural oil
and it builds up a warm satin finish that's very durable..
My 1st use of it was about a year ago on a small redwood table out by
the pool.. it survived a summer of 100+ degree days and most of a
rainy winter and looks fine.. YMMV
mac
Please remove splinters before emailing
On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 14:57:33 GMT, mac davis
<[email protected]> wrote:
>for a newbie wanting a poly finish, I'd really, really recommend
>minwax rubbing poly (at all borgs for about $7 a can) over your
>stained pine..
He could also thin the brush-on stuff with mineral spirits 25-40% if
he's already got some.
Keep the wiping cloth in a jar or Ziploc and use the same cloth for a
week.
Barry
On Fri, 31 Dec 2004 20:24:30 -0600, "Richard A."
<[email protected]> wrote:
>FWIW, I went to a staining class but I learned too much. I understand
>the application process pretty well but deciding on the best stain I
>still find confusing.
Practice on scrap until you understand, even if you have to buy wood!
Do every step from sanding to final finish to the test board, write
down detailed descriptions of how you did each step. If something
goes wrong, stop there and diagnose the problem, help is available
here.
DO NOT try the project if you're not comfortable! <G>
Barry
On Fri, 31 Dec 2004 23:39:54 -0600, "Richard A."
<[email protected]> wrote:
>It's a white pine which makes me think I need the harder finish.
Try "Staining" the wood with "Natural" colored stain first, following
the can directions. Let dry overnight. This coat will soak deeply
into the more porous areas, making the darker color less blotchy and
more even, but slightly lighter.
Use scrap!
Barry
J T wrote:
> Fri, Dec 31, 2004, 8:24pm (EST-1) [email protected] (Richard A.)
> claims:
> <snip> I have a polyurethane clear finish spray that I was going to
> apply over the stain. Is this a decent type of finish or is there a
> better one to use?
>
> I only tried it once, and the smell was so horrible I never tried
> it again.
>
> FWIW, I went to a staining class but I learned too much. I understand
> the application process pretty well but deciding on the best stain I
> still find confusing.
>
> Now you're confusing me. Best stain would be whatever your wife
> liked best, in my book.
>
Yeah, I misspoke. I meant that I'm having a hard time deciding on the
best finsh (after stain). I've learned a lot since I originally
posted. Polyurethane apparently is inflexible (won't expand and
contract with wood) and can give a plastic look.
After a lot of reading, I decided to use a laquer finish but my local
Lowe's didn't have much of a selection. Tung oil would be my second
choice, I'll probably try it next. Then I'll finish off with a carnumba
wax.
The stain is still drying since it's been damp the last couple of days.
Thanks again for the advice.
Richard
"GerryG" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> Edwin: On poly, other than Rockhard poly, I haven't seen much that'll
> tolerate
> tossed keys, unless you keep it satin with little if any surface film. I
> think
> that would work okay here, although the pine's rather soft.
Thanks. I've been tossing my keys (and my hat) on the same poly coated pine
board by the door in my family room for that past 23 years. I'd better come
up with an alternative so it won't get damaged.
"Richard A." <[email protected]> wrote in message
> I'm ready to stain my first project. I understand that it is good to
> clean it with a solvent such as mineral spirits to remove dirt and oils.
It will work OK. I never use it, but you can.
> I want to do this right and I've studied all the finishes and yet I still
> am not sure of the best one to use. The project is a tray for SWMBO. She
> intends to use it to throw keys, change, etc. in it. I would like a satin
> finish but it really doesn't matter.
What kind of wood? Maybe it would look better with no stain. Maybe just
some tung oil followed by a coat of wax for a satin finish. Polyurethane is
durable though and will stand up to the tossed keys.
--
Ed
http://pages.cthome.net/edhome/