Folks who appreciate a good woodworking job know that the best way to end any project is to stain it. A stained piece of expertly crafted woodwork can look so much better than the same piece of unstained wood. However, that’s not always the case. Staining wood can be a difficult task, especially if you don’t have a ton of experience doing it. Plus, mistakes happen all the time, even to the most experienced woodworkers out there. Thankfully, there are ways to correct your mistakes. Read on to learn about some of the most common staining mistakes, and how to fix them without having to bring your piece to a professional for repairs:
The color isn’t right: Color is everything when it comes to staining a piece of beautiful mahogany wood in Franklin County, MA. What’s the point of staining the wood if you’re not happy with the color? The top problem people have when staining is miscalculating what the finished product will look like. The wood can end up looking too red or too brown for their liking. What’s worse is if the stain doesn’t match the pieces in the rest of the room. Minwax’s Polyshades lets you change the tone by adding a different color. So, if the finished product is too red, try adding a brown. Just be sure to add color gradually. Remember, you can never make a piece of wood lighter!
It’s streaky: You got your color right—that’s great! But if that color is streaky, your wood still isn’t going to look as pretty as it should. To fix a streaky job, first strip as much of that color off as you can. Scrub the surface of an oil-based with a Scotch-Brite pad and mineral spirits until the streaks are all gone. If you have a water-based stain, scrub the area using a lacquer thinner. After all of the streaks are gone, reapply your stain and wipe off the excess immediately.
It’s splotchy: Some tree species have pockets of sap. While that adds a unique look to the wood, the pockets of sap can cause your stain to absorb unevenly, creating a splotchy appearance. Luckily, the steps to fixing splotches are pretty straightforward. Start by stripping off all of the stain that you can by using the technique mentioned above. Next, seal the wood with a thin mix of de-waxed shellac and alcohol. Make sure the wood is saturated with that solution and then wipe it off. After the surface has dried for two hours, use a 100 percent pigmented stain to re-stain your wood, and then wipe away the excess with a rag. It’s that easy! All it takes to correct mistakes is a little time and elbow grease.
Remember, you’re not alone out there! Woodworkers everywhere make mistakes when staining mahogany wood in Franklin County, MA. If you’ve tried correcting your mistake to no avail, feel free to stop by Forest Products Associates. One of our friendly employees will be happy to talk about the mistake and offer more solutions to your issue.