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Wood Furniture - Sanding & Experimentation

Never underestimate the power of sanding and experimentation when beginning a wood furniture staining project. These two things can dramatically impact your finished product.

Of course, almost everyone understands that sanding is important, even if they don't fully comprehend the why. Put simply, sanding opens up the pores of the wood, allowing more of the stain to soak in. If you use a different "grain" of sandpaper, you will get a different staining result. DON'T try this, untested, on a new piece of furniture, however! Instead, pick up a cheap, unfinished wood shelf (made from the same type of wood as the furniture you're thinking of staining), and do your testing on that!

In a similar vein, experiment (on another board) with various sanding techniques before actually sanding the furniture. Many people are enamored with belt sanders because it’s faster, but I have found the results to be less than satisfactory. Besides, when staining wood furniture, usually I’m creating an heirloom piece, and it’s simply worth the extra time. Again, try both on a practice board and use the one that serves your personal needs the best.

Staining wood furniture is at least as much about the art as it is about the science, and one thing you'll learn very quickly is that you'll have areas of darker and lighter stain, depending on how long you let the stain "set" on the wood before wiping. To keep an even look, always try to apply and wipe in as even a manner as you can. Even so, there WILL BE some variation, and that's okay. A small amount of color variation adds character to the piece, but remember that in general, the longer you let the stain sit, the darker the final result will be.

Furniture staining is a hobby that nearly anybody can do, or at least help with. Almost anyone can grasp the basics of it and enjoy working toward the finished product. Keep in mind, however, that this is not a hobby of instant gratification. It can take DAYS to finish a piece out, but if you take the time to test on the front end, you can be all but assured that your results will be spectacular!

Article Source: http://www.targetsearch.org/articles

To learn more about this and related topics, See Bare Wood Furniture, www.bare-wood-furniture.com

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