You should be aware that the end grain of wood takes too much stain. Consequently it becomes too dark unless you take extra care to prevent this extra absorption. The open ends of the tracheal vessels, or the tracheids in some woods, absorb very avidly water and stains in general.
Sometimes if you sponge the stain on to the end-grain and apply the stain while this part of the wood is wet, this will even up the color, just as it may do on sap-wood.
Some wood finishers prefer to apply a coat of very thin glue sizing to the end grain and sapwood, after they have performed a few experiments to determine the proportions of sizing glue and water that they need to have in the mixture.
The end grain usually requires more glue in the sizing mixture than does sapwood. You should wait until the sizing has dried in the pores before you start applying the stain and if necessary do some resanding of the wood, regardless of whether the wood will be used for plinth blocks, door toppers, or corner guards.
Knots and different kinds of wood which are laid side by side sometimes require special treatment, but some variation of the methods suggested for end grain and sapwood are ordinarily used.
The end grain of woods with large open pores especially is sometimes treated with a coat of paste wood filler to prevent the stain from soaking in too much. None of the filler should be allowed to run over on the faces and edges, or you will have lighter spots or streaks in places where they are not wanted.
When you use brushes to apply water stains, they should not be kept standing in the stains, because soaking will cause the bristles to become too soft and “moppy” for good work. They can be washed in water and dried and in this way, you can keep them in better condition for future work on fireplace mantles, wood fireplace inserts, or ornamental pediment!
A fitch brush about 2½” wide, set with a rubber ferrule, is the type of brush frequently used for water staining. Polar-bear bristles, which should be rubberset, are also preferred for some kinds of work.
A rather soft brush will do good work in staining a closely grained wood, but, for wood with large open pores, a stiff bristle brush is superior because it can reach and cover the bottoms of the cell openings. Stiff brushes give a flatter or more even tone than flaccid brushes in staining porous wood.
A soft brush, if used on wood with large open pores, leaves light specks in the cell cavities because stain thus applied docs not penetrate sufficiently into the tiny openings. Glue-set brushes cannot be used for any length of time in water stains because the bristles will come out when the glue softens.
Either oval or flat brushes are satisfactory, but in any case a rather large size is preferable to a smaller size brush. On large piece of wood, it is best to use a 3″ or 4″ brush because it holds more stain and this will make the work of staining less tedious.
is wet, this will even up the color, just as it may do on sap-wood.
Some wood finishers prefer to apply a coat of very thin glue sizing to the end grain and sapwood, after they have performed a few experiments to determine the proportions of sizing glue and water that they need to have in the mixture.
The end grain usually requires more glue in the sizing mixture than does sapwood. You should wait until the sizing has dried in the pores before you start applying the stain and if necessary do some resanding of the wood, regardless of whether the wood will be used for plinth blocks, door toppers, or corner guards.
Knots and different kinds of wood which are laid side by side sometimes require special treatment, but some variation of the methods suggested for end grain and sapwood are ordinarily used.
The end grain of woods with large open pores especially is sometimes treated with a coat of paste wood filler to prevent the stain from soaking in too much. None of the filler should be allowed to run over on the faces and edges, or you will have lighter spots or streaks in places where they are not wanted.
When you use brushes to apply water stains, they should not be kept standing in the stains, because soaking will cause the bristles to become too soft and “moppy” for good work. They can be washed in water and dried and in this way, you can keep them in better condition for future work on fireplace mantles, wood fireplace inserts, or ornamental pediment!
A fitch brush about 2½” wide, set with a rubber ferrule, is the type of brush frequently used for water staining. Polar-bear bristles, which should be rubberset, are also preferred for some kinds of work.
A rather soft brush will do good work in staining a closely grained wood, but, for wood with large open pores, a stiff bristle brush is superior because it can reach and cover the bottoms of the cell openings. Stiff brushes give a flatter or more even tone than flaccid brushes in staining porous wood.
A soft brush, if used on wood with large open pores, leaves light specks in the cell cavities because stain thus applied docs not penetrate sufficiently into the tiny openings. Glue-set brushes cannot be used for any length of time in water stains because the bristles will come out when the glue softens.
Either oval or flat brushes are satisfactory, but in any case a rather large size is preferable to a smaller size brush. On large piece of wood, it is best to use a 3″ or 4″ brush because it holds more stain and this will make the work of staining less tedious.
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