When to stain furniture?
DIY Furniture Repair
A finish can make or break a piece of furniture. An otherwise unattractive piece of furniture can be greatly improved by an attractive finish. Conversely, a good-looking piece can be ruined by a bad finish. Because wood color is such a crucial part of the final look of furniture, decisions concerning staining furniture are important.
Should the furniture be stained in the first place? What type of wood stain should you use? If you do stain furniture, what color will give you the look you're after? Some of the answers to these questions can be a matter of personal preference, but others can make your work easier and allow you to get the best look for your particular piece.
When refinishing furniture, staining the wood isn't always necessary. Some woods, such as walnut or mahogany, have a natural beauty that is revealed by simply applying a clear coat of finish. There are other naturally light woods, like pine or maple, that you may want to keep that way; to stain them would make them too dark.
You should consider to stain furniture, if any of the following is true:
* The wood is ugly and lifeless.
It's been said that no wood is unattractive. This sentiment may be true when the wood is in its natural state. But many times I've seen wood that is unattractive and lifeless after it's been stained, finished, and then stripped in preparation for refinishing. The right choice in stain color can greatly improve the look of a piece in this condition.
* The furniture is made up, either partially or totally, of inferior wood.
Many pieces of furniture have been constructed using plain-looking woods, such as birch or poplar, only to be stained and finished to look like more expensive woods, such as cherry, mahogany, or walnut. Prominent parts, like tops, drawer fronts, door panels, and chair back splats, were often constructed using attractive wood veneers, with a secondary wood used for the other furniture parts. The secondary wood was then stained and finished to match the attractive primary wood. To achieve professional-looking results when refinishing this type of piece, you'll need to stain the secondary wood parts to match the better, more attractive wood.
To determine the natural color of the primary wood, wet it down with mineral spirits or put a coat of finish only on that part of the piece. You will get an accurate color to which you can refer when staining the rest of the wood to match.
* The furniture needs to match a particular finish or color.
If your piece needs to match another piece or if you want to achieve a particular look, such as dark walnut or brown mahogany, you may need to stain furniture to achieve this goal. If you're trying to match pieces, such as a desk chair to a desk, wipe the chair down with mineral spirits to wet the wood, and then compare the chair with the finished desk. This procedure will give you an approximate idea of the stain color you must use on the chair to match the desk. Turn the chair upside down, and use an inconspicuous area like the seat bottom to test the stain you choose for a color match. Compare the stain color while the stain's still wet, or let the stain dry and apply a coat of finish before comparing the color.
* The furniture is constructed of high-quality wood but needs to be revitalized.
Sometimes even though a piece is constructed from quality furniture wood, the wood may have lost its vitality. An example of this loss of beauty is when walnut or mahogany has been bleached by sunlight, which robs wood of its natural color. You might be able to revitalize the wood by staining it with a thinned reddish-colored stain. Other situations may require using stain at full strength to restore the original wood color.
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