Staining Tips?....

[Maverick00]

Originally Posted by Mrfish55

How long did you let the stain sit before clear was applied? If you did 2 coats of stain you should wait 48-72 hrs before topcoat. Make sure you are carefull with sanding the clear, if you go thru to the stain it will show on the next coat, the first coat of clear is normally the most difficult as you can get airbubbles from the wood pores, subsequent coats should flow nicer, if you are not using water base poly you can also thin 10-20 % this will slow dry time and flow better giving bubbles time to off gas before the poly flashes. Pine is a pita to get consistent nice finish, took me a long time and lots of experimenting to find results I could live with, good luck and post up some pics.

Im using oil based. I let the stain dry for around 20 hrs or so. Ill leave it alittle longer on my next test piece. The can on the stain states its dry and ready for finish after 8 hrs from what i remember but it wouldnt hurt leaving it longer i suppose. If im STILL unable to get a nice finish ill try thinning with mineral spirits like you suggested. Thanks for the tips though I am so glad i started with test pieces or my stand would have looked like it was built on the red green show :P