Sawdust on the Floor

Let me ask you a serious question. Are you ever really dissatisfied with the way your latest woodworking project accepts the stain finish that you just applied? Is the finish uneven, are there contrasting shiny and dull spots? If you did a good job of sanding the wood before you applied the stain, and you also did a thorough job cleaning the wood, then I may have a solution for you.

In my mind, we can divide wood into two categories, dense and open grain woods. A dense wood would be something like Ironwood or Koa. The grains of these woods is so tightly packed together that the wood will not readily accept a finish. Open grain woods, like Oak, or Walnut are comprised of many uneven open cells or pores. The fact that the pores are of an uneven size, is why your finish is not even over the entire surface. For the finish to be even, we have to make all of the open cells the same size. And the solution for that is actually very simple.

The trick, which I learned from my late father in law, is to seal the wood as we are staining it. I know that sounds kind of like double speak, but hear me out. His method was to take a small amount of a quality wood filler and dilute it with paint thinner, until it was the same consistency as your stain product. Then he would mix the wood filler and the stain together in a separate can. Use a rag or brush to apply the mixture to your project as you normally would, then allow the stain mixture to sit on the project for about five minutes. Then using a course material such as burlap, wipe off the excess stain. Now here was the important part. When you wipe off the excess, you wipe it off cross grain. This forces the mixture into all of the open cells of the wood, and produces a even finish over the entire surface.

Many manufacturers make products that are sold as wood fillers, and most of these are good products. I would strongly advise you to stay away from any product that has words like “plastic” in the name. These products are designed to fill holes in your wood, however most will not accept stain.

I have tried this method and I have to say that it works. I can also testify to the fact that it is not an easy task. If you wait too long and allow the stain to start setting up before you wipe off the excess, your arms will be in for a good work out. My advice is to work in small sections of your project, don’t get to far ahead of yourself. If you are applying stain to a cabinet, consider working on one door at a time.

Wood filler should not be confused with another product that is marketed under names like “Grain Tamer”. These are products that are designed to be applied to the entire surface of the project before you ever apply stain. I am not fond of the results of these products, they give the wood an unnatural finish almost like a plastic coating.

Wood filler is readily available at most woodworking supply stores and burlap can usually be found at a garden center or the gardening department of your local DIY store.

So what have you got to loose, an even finish and a cardio workout at the same time, a true win win situation.