Using Stains

Understand that wood grain is tubular in its structure. In the process of drying the lumber it has shrunk, but still retains this nature. When we work on our wood projects, the grain is like it is laying on its side when you are working it. The end of the tube grain is the “end” grain, meaning the ends of these fibers, and will always be darker. Therefore, you are always working with a portion of a tube like a half round pipe! This is where the bulk of your stain pigment is caught. So when you leave a rougher sanded surface more pigment is trapped and the color will be darker. Pigmented stains consist of tiny pigment particles suspended in a liquid binder of either water or alcohol. The sanding process removes the rougher surface and makes the stain harder to take hold. This is where the type of stain you use comes into play. The pigment lays on the surface in open pores, scratches and any nook or cranny it finds. Sealing the wood with a “sealer” simply makes your coating of a stain more even. Water based stains raise the grain and demand more. Alcohol based stains do better by evaporating the binder and leaving the pigment behind.