Attaining a High Quality Wood Finish
Woodworking Projects That Sell
Favorite furnishings woods are maple and cherry, both have a good figure, are simple to maker, and cherry has a terrific fruity smell when cut. Maple has a couple of benefits over cherry. Perfectly figured maple is much easier to find and more economical, and because it has a comparable grain pattern, effectively stained maple is almost identical from cherry, however, both cherry and maple have a reputation for being difficult to complete.
Cherry and maple do not stain evenly. Their extremely valued figure results from end grain that rises to the face of the board in irregular patterns. A lot of finishers try to stain cherry and maple utilizing pigment discolorations, however since end grain takes in pigment far more rapidly than does face grain, the outcome is blotchy, irregular color.
Preparing the wood
Preparation methods might fill a book, so I'll just hit the peaks here. Sand all surfaces evenly, working your method up through sanding grits from course to fine, skipping every other grit: 60, 100, 150, 220. The concept is to use 60 grit to remove tool marks and flatten large surface areas, then utilize each successive grit to eliminate the scratches left by the previous grit. On flat surfaces back your sandpaper with a sanding block. Use a store light and sight along the wood. When you have an even sheen with no scratches left from the previous grit you can proceed to the next grit. When sanding by hand, do not use a lot of pressure. Just the weight of your hand and even strokes should get the job done.
Using dye spots
To navigate the problem of irregular pigment stain absorption, usage dye stains instead. The difference is important. Pigment discolorations are composed of small nontransparent particles of color suspended in liquid. When used to the wood, these particles lodge in pores and scratches, and the open ends of end grain where they are drawn up by capillary action, leading to a blotchy appearance. Pigment stains likewise highlight sanding mistakes and odd, rather than improve the figure of the wood.
Raising the grain
Water soaks into the wood and swells the fibers, leading to fine "whiskers" on an otherwise completely sanded surface. It is essential, for that reason, to intentionally raise the grain of the wood and sand off the whiskers prior to using water-based dyes. To do this, merely take a clean sponge or rag soaked in warm water, wet the surface area of the wood, and let it dry. When the wood dries gently sand off the raised whiskers with 320 grit sandpaper, sand only enough to get rid of the whiskers; too much sanding will cut through to the un-raised grain underneath, defeating the purpose. Remember to use a sanding block on flat surfaces. Repeat this process a couple of times. By the 3rd wetting you ought to feel no more raised grain.
Selecting the Color
Color spots come in a variety of colors, typically as powder in one-ounce bottles, and are simple to blend. It is hard to tell from the color of the powder or a chart what the color will appear like on your task, so while you're at the store moisten a finger and stick it in the powder and clean it on a sample of your wood or slip of paper. Discover a number of colors that look close, then a couple more at the extremes of the range you have an interest in. For instance, I like a deep orange-red mahogany color so I'll pick "dark mahogany" or "cherry mahogany" for beginners, and after that get something actually yellow in case the others are too red and something really red in case they are too yellow.
Mixing the Dye
There are two ways to mix dyes. You can blend them together in a single batch to get the color you want, or you can mix them by succeeding applications on your work. Since you're going to apply numerous coats of color anyhow, and since it's difficult to replicate a mixture, I suggest blending them on the work.
Favorite furnishings woods are maple and cherry, both have a good figure, are simple to maker, and cherry has a terrific fruity smell when cut. Maple has a couple of benefits over cherry. Perfectly figured maple is much easier to find and more economical, and because it has a comparable grain pattern, effectively stained maple is almost identical from cherry, however, both cherry and maple have a reputation for being difficult to complete.
Cherry and maple do not stain evenly. Their extremely valued figure results from end grain that rises to the face of the board in irregular patterns. A lot of finishers try to stain cherry and maple utilizing pigment discolorations, however since end grain takes in pigment far more rapidly than does face grain, the outcome is blotchy, irregular color.
Preparing the wood
Preparation methods might fill a book, so I'll just hit the peaks here. Sand all surfaces evenly, working your method up through sanding grits from course to fine, skipping every other grit: 60, 100, 150, 220. The concept is to use 60 grit to remove tool marks and flatten large surface areas, then utilize each successive grit to eliminate the scratches left by the previous grit. On flat surfaces back your sandpaper with a sanding block. Use a store light and sight along the wood. When you have an even sheen with no scratches left from the previous grit you can proceed to the next grit. When sanding by hand, do not use a lot of pressure. Just the weight of your hand and even strokes should get the job done.
Using dye spots
To navigate the problem of irregular pigment stain absorption, usage dye stains instead. The difference is important. Pigment discolorations are composed of small nontransparent particles of color suspended in liquid. When used to the wood, these particles lodge in pores and scratches, and the open ends of end grain where they are drawn up by capillary action, leading to a blotchy appearance. Pigment stains likewise highlight sanding mistakes and odd, rather than improve the figure of the wood.
Raising the grain
Water soaks into the wood and swells the fibers, leading to fine "whiskers" on an otherwise completely sanded surface. It is essential, for that reason, to intentionally raise the grain of the wood and sand off the whiskers prior to using water-based dyes. To do this, merely take a clean sponge or rag soaked in warm water, wet the surface area of the wood, and let it dry. When the wood dries gently sand off the raised whiskers with 320 grit sandpaper, sand only enough to get rid of the whiskers; too much sanding will cut through to the un-raised grain underneath, defeating the purpose. Remember to use a sanding block on flat surfaces. Repeat this process a couple of times. By the 3rd wetting you ought to feel no more raised grain.
Selecting the Color
Color spots come in a variety of colors, typically as powder in one-ounce bottles, and are simple to blend. It is hard to tell from the color of the powder or a chart what the color will appear like on your task, so while you're at the store moisten a finger and stick it in the powder and clean it on a sample of your wood or slip of paper. Discover a number of colors that look close, then a couple more at the extremes of the range you have an interest in. For instance, I like a deep orange-red mahogany color so I'll pick "dark mahogany" or "cherry mahogany" for beginners, and after that get something actually yellow in case the others are too red and something really red in case they are too yellow.
Mixing the Dye
There are two ways to mix dyes. You can blend them together in a single batch to get the color you want, or you can mix them by succeeding applications on your work. Since you're going to apply numerous coats of color anyhow, and since it's difficult to replicate a mixture, I suggest blending them on the work.
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