Staining Wood?

Jgoal55;394092 wrote: ahh thanks....didnt think about the porousness of the wood.

about the compromise..lol...i have to ask the carpenter but was possibly thinking that maybe he suggested a high grit sanding because he already sanded with a lower grit......could this be the case?
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Jorge
I used to sand the stairs that I built down to a 220 grit finish and the finisher's would get very upset .They said the stain would not take to the wood properly. Until the market changed 15 years or so ago I did no finishing work. Then when I had to apply finishes to the stairs, I understood what they were saying. The best finishes derive from the finisher excercising patience in his prepwork and sanding in between coats. 150 grit is what I use to start then step to the 220 then the 600. The foam pads are great product and give a nice smooth finish.
 
grouper therapy;394109 wrote: 150 grit is what I use to start then step to the 220 then the 600. The foam pads are great product and give a nice smooth finish.
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Yeah....when I began to think about it I realized that maybe thats why he suggested one last sanding with a high grit. Ill ask him to be sure.

So, if Im understanding correctly, you're saying before anything at all is done to the wood, you sand 150???? then the 220 is used after the stain, then 600 in between the varnish coats? Do you sand after the final varnish?

Also do you sand in between stain coats?
 
sand with 150 before stain
prestain conditioner
stain
apply sanding sealer
sand with 300
apply poly
sand with 600
apply poly
Done


If a third coat of poly is desired sand again with 600

no need to sand after final coat of poly
 
What about testing the sanding/staining processes on a scrap piece of the same wood to insure that you get the results you want. If the wrong process is used and the stain is applied, it is almost impossible to start over. Every type of wood is different and requires special attention to achieve the results desired.
 
rsjoiner;394160 wrote: What about testing the sanding/staining processes on a scrap piece of the same wood to insure that you get the results you want. If the wrong process is used and the stain is applied, it is almost impossible to start over. Every type of wood is different and requires special attention to achieve the results desired.
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Good advice !!even if he has done it once again would not hurt
 
lol....very true.....actually what I am doing now is testing on the area of the stand that the foam and fish tanks sits on since of course youll never see that. Its the whole footprint of the tank so its nice big area where I can try various techniques....gonna try a few of them tomorrow.
 
I did the same thing when looking to match my new canopy to my existing base..

I'd recommend doing an area at least 8"X8" but not larger than 12"X12"...


that way if you do it and don't like it.. you still have some area you can try again on..
(and given that the test area is nice and flat, you can use an electric sander to remove your trial methods and go ahead and stain the top so that it matches the rest of the unit)
 
yeah those are good sizes to test with....first I did some strips just to verify color, but now Im going to some squares to get the stain pattern right.
 
stain pattern, finish, everything... (just to beat a dead horse, no need to use the sanding sealer after the stain if you're going to put two coats of a polyurethane on the piece - I'd recommend the "satin")
 
Hey all........thanks for all the help....I finally began staining today

The camera makes the stain job look horrible but it really doesn't look like that in person at all. It looks much better. We sanded down with (you'll be happy to know GT) 180, then lightly with a 220 over some of the detail.

Tomorrow well apply another coat, then sanding sealer, then 2-3 coats of poly.

Hey all........thanks for all the help....I finally began staining today....pics here:

The camera makes the stain job look horrible but it really doesn't look like that in person at all. It looks much better.

pics here:
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Nice man! Tell william I clicked on his lil red house on rc and was enjoying the myspace Lionel Richie.
 
ah sorry....I thought I had posted the pic of the first coat of stain last week but I guess I didnt. Anyway, its just about all done now. I am going to put one more coat of poly on tomorrow (that'll be 3x) and I'll be officially done. Ill get some pictures of it all done over the weekend. My plan is to have the tank on the stand by Monday or Tuesday at the latest.

The pictures below look terrible. It looks really blotchy in the pics but it didn't at all in person. Im not sure why I couldn't get the camera to take a realistic picture. Either way, now it looks even better than it did when this pic was taken. I am really, really happy with the color. And oh yeah, GT....the sanding sealer was a great call. Made a real nice difference.

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thanks guys.....I keep looking at these pics and I realize how much better it looks in person. but yeah, you at least get teh idea with the color. Today, Im going to put a coat of varnish on the table top part of the stand and then silicone the edges. I also siliconed all the lower cracks and edges on the inside of the stand for when that day comes....lol. Ill post another set of pics tomorrow or tuesday at the latest
 
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