How to preserve the unique structure of the wood, but give the product a darker color and how long does stain take to dry? Regular staining will not work; stain is required.
Table of Contents
- How to use the stain
- Types of tinting products
- How to cover after staining
- Choice of colors
- Application methods
- Stages of preparatory work
- Surface preparation stages
- Selection recommendations
- Video Speeding Up The Stain Drying
How to use the stain
Items made from expensive varieties of wood are quite expensive, but there is a way out – you need to study how to stain, choose the desired variety, the shade of the tinting composition and change the world for the better. In addition, it is important to have an understanding of the rules for surface preparation, the methods and stages of application. Stain retains the structure, relief of the material, changing only its color. All properties remain the same as the composition impregnates the material within the top layer.
Layering allows you to mix shades, bringing out a unique color.
Types of tinting products
The main advantage of processing with a tinting composition is the aesthetic aspect (the material takes on a decorative look). But there are other advantages: an increase in the operating period due to an antiseptic effect, preservation of texture, absence of toxic substances, the ability to combine different tones, colors, good adhesion to the processed wood object, increased resistance to a humid environment, ease of use.
The process of staining itself depends on its type, the classification has several main varieties of toning material:
A water stain is the most budgetary and non-toxic option for interior decoration. The formulations are sold ready-made, diluted, or in powder form, which must be diluted with water. Water-based compositions are available in a wide variety of colors. The drying process is relatively long – up to 14 hours. Resinous rocks must be degummed before processing, wood with raised piles must be sanded.
Powder compositions must be diluted with warm water. Add a little more water to make the solution a shade lighter.
Alcohol stain – consisting of an alcohol base and aniline dye. The product is also available in two states: dry and liquid. Unlike water stains, dry substances are diluted with alcohol. In general, in order not to be confused with what to dilute, you need to carefully study the instructions. Alcohol stains dry much faster – in half an hour.
Attention! When working with these solutions, ventilate the room, otherwise, you will get poisoned by breathing in vapors. The evaporation process lasts only 30 minutes, so during this time there will be a maximum concentration of toxic substances from denatured alcohol.
Oil stain – characterized by resistance to ultraviolet light, the solution is based on oil (often linseed), so the richness of the pigments remains for years. How much such a composition dries depends on the concentration, temperature, and other factors. On average, the period is within 2-4 hours. Application is even easier, the most uniform layer is obtained, the pile does not rise.
Acrylic or wax stain – with excellent moisture protection properties. But the coating is not protected from mechanical damage. The compositions are applied easily, without streaks, and retain the same tone. The choice of colors is wide, well suited for restoration work on parquet and furniture. A whole complex of factors affects how much wood stain dries, but the average time for complete stain drying is within the period from 4 to 5 hours.
Nitro Morilac – similar in properties and method of application to alcohol stain. They need to quickly cover wooden structures, a good option is the use of sprayers.
How to apply?
For staining at home, use brushes, foam sponges, tampons made of soft absorbent fabric, ordinary paint rollers, spray guns. The choice of tools and equipment is influenced by the type of composition, the time of its drying.
Water stains are applied with a brush, roller, tampons; for alcohol and nitromillocks, it is recommended to spray with a spray gun – so the consumption is more economical, the quality of the coating is several times higher. For oil and acrylic compositions, swabs made of lint-free cloth, wide brushes are equally good for application.
For water compositions, brushes with synthetic bristles are suitable, for oily ones – only with natural ones.
How to cover after staining
The finishing coat must be chosen carefully; there are recommendations for each type of tint mixture. Water-based ones are the most unpretentious, they can be treated with varnish, oil, or paint. What kind of varnish after stain is suitable: transparent or pigmented, depends on the desire to add color to the surface. If you want to change the color, paint it with a colored varnish, if the tinting suits you, you need to choose a colorless varnish. Only oil for wood, varnishes, and other compositions will peel off perfectly on the oil stain. Lacquer or paint will fall on the alcohol stain. It is better to varnish nitro-based solutions. Therefore, before covering with a finishing compound, you need to find out if the product is compatible with the stain base in order to avoid exfoliation.
The size of the spray gun nozzle should be no more than 1.5 mm.
Choice of colors
According to the international classification, each color of the stain is assigned a code, the name of the breed. For example, “Oak”, “Plum”, “Walnut”, “Mahogany”. There are multi-colored compositions: red, green, pink, and other shades. Before covering the material with a stain, select the color, calculate the material consumption, and study the classification. It is impractical to choose according to the label, an unexpected result is guaranteed.
The reasons are simple:
Different manufacturers have different colors on the label for the same code. It is good if you study the samples in the form of colored dies – they more accurately convey color than the drawing on the package.
The final result after toning depends on the characteristics of the material itself: its density, color, texture, structure. The result depends on how the wood stain is applied. After all, a brush, a roller wetter the surface than a spray.
For example, if you treat maple and mahogany with the same color, the stain will look much lighter on maple. If we consider pine and maple, then hard, dense maple wood will have a less intense shade than pine (it is more porous, stained more efficiently).
When covering oak with a tinting solution, do not be alarmed by the different intensity of staining along the veins, the main part of the material is logical because more coloring pigment gets into the grooves of the veins.
White stain is an alternative type of solution, environmentally friendly, inexpensive. The black shade has recently become popular, because after processing it looks like a black mirror (if you grind and polish the surface in advance). Gray shades are combined with any color in the interior, but cause apathy.
Application methods
It is not enough to know how to apply the stain; it is also necessary to take into account the processing area, the degree of saturation of the wood surface.
The main methods of application:
Excessive coating followed by removal of excess. With the help of this technique, all smudges, color transitions arising from the water stain are smoothed out. If you use a brush or roller, the movements should be strictly longitudinal; with cloth tampons, the tinting agent is applied in a circular motion.
If, after the first layer has dried, you are not satisfied with the result: the surface seems too light, repeat all the tint manipulations.
Coating with excess, but without removing excess. The technique is applicable to oil, acrylic compositions, since the main solution is quickly absorbed by the tree, there is simply no excess left.
According to another classification, the methods of application are subdivided depending on the tool: painting by rubbing for porous varieties of wood (cloth swab); spraying (spray gun); roller application (foam roller); painting with a brush (brushes with natural bristles for oil stains, with artificial ones for aqueous compositions).
Stages of preparatory work
Even professional builders carry out a test color before the main treatment on a prototype. Therefore, we recommend that you definitely test the solution in order to understand whether the shade is suitable. Cover the sample with one even layer and let dry. Then apply a second coat, but leave 1/3 unpainted. With the third layer, cover exactly half of the second layer after drying. Cover a completely dried board with varnish according to all the rules in two layers. Compare one, two, three coat samples.
To speed up the process and enhance adhesion, the stain is heated. The processing of the ends is carried out with greater intensity since they absorb the composition much more.
Surface preparation stages
Before using the stain, you need to rid the surface of all old coatings (if any). To do this, the wood must go through the process of scraping and grinding – this contributes to the complete removal of the old coating, the absolute leveling of the surface.
Cleaning the object from oil and grease inclusions with gasoline or white spirit (a normal absorbent cloth is enough).
Deresinization of conifers. Resin residues will interfere with the creation of a uniform tone, impeccable stain.
You can make your own resin remover. The recipe is simple: mix a liter of heated water either with caustic soda (50 grams), or with acetone (330 grams), or with a mixture of potassium carbonate (50 grams), soda ash (60 grams). We cover the boards abundantly with solutions, preferably several times. After 30 minutes, remove the remnants with a cotton rag, rinse well with water.
Toning technology
The staining process is much easier than the preparatory stage. There is a certain algorithm for how to properly stain a tree.
Step by step scheme:
To enhance the effect and adhesion, the solution is heated.
If using a spray gun, fill the spray container with a stain. In the case of an application with a brush, swab, roller, rag, they just need to be moistened in the composition (but not much). Excessive moisture will result in streaks that impair appearance.
It is advisable to try to cover the tree along the grain, quickly. Interruptions in work can lead to stains, uneven coloring.
Leave the tree to dry completely.
As soon as the first layer is dry, you can apply the second layer, and also the third – the shade will be more saturated. But if one layer is enough, cover the tree with a suitable composition (it was described above in detail whether it is necessary to varnish the stain, whether all varieties of stain allow varnish).
After each layer of varnish, after it has completely dried, it is necessary to grind the surface with fine-grained emery paper. But not the finishing layer, we leave it as it is.
Selection recommendations
After studying the article, you already know how to properly apply the stain on the tree, but it is also important to choose the composition correctly. All funds can be divided into external and internal solutions, the criterion of which is the quality, type of pigment. For external work, the dye must be protected from fading. Consider which tool you will have to use. If you do not know how to use a spray gun, but are fluent with a brush or roller, choose a water-based stain.
When processing indoors, you need to buy non-toxic materials, these include formulations on a water, oil or wax base (there are practically no volatile compounds in them).
Be sure to use 96 percent alcohol when diluting the powdered alcohol composition. If you doubt the quality of alcohol, purchase ready-made formulations.
Tips for use: heat the solution no higher than 37-38 degrees; rub the excess only along the fibers; surfaces in a vertical plane are covered from below (otherwise, drops that fall on an unpainted tree will be absorbed and then stand out). Due to the high absorbency of the ends and cuts, they are processed with maximum intensity.
