Staining Tips?....

[Maverick00]

Well I have another update, i dont want to milk this thread dry but hopefully this will help someone else having the same issues i had. Its been frustrating as hell.

I went to rona and picked up some 3" foam brushes. I once again tried to put down another layer of poly with little hope it would work out but i was mistaking. I dipped the brush in 1/2" or so and started to brush very slowly using just the tip of the brush and to my amazement it sat down with little to no bubbles at all. There are small fisheyes that are currently noticeable but i think it may be because of how uneven my previously layers were due to the bubbles popping and leaving craters. I also found the foam brush to be alot easier to maintain a THIN coat evenly across the surface. Im very excited and going to try to mimic a stand door tomorrow from start to finish before moving onto the actual stand.

Saying this I believe the 2in1 probably would have worked out for me if i would have started with the foam brush from square one. However using a stain then poly gave me a completely different look which i actually like alot better. The contrast of the grain is much stronger which im assuming is due to the stain penetrating the wood deeper with 2 steps rather than sealing and staining the wood in one step with the 2 in 1.

Anyway here is what ive learnt so far.

- Sand the panels with the grain of the wood using 220 followed by 400
- Make absolutely sure the surface is free of debris.
- Stain with a bristle brush, keep the coat thin because you'll be amazed at how much you'll end up wiping off after 10 - 15 mins.
- Scuff the surface with fine steel wool and repeat stain procedure until your happy with the darkness of the wood. Make sure to keep surface clean
- Apply the poly with a foam brush, not only did i find this better in every aspect (keeping a thin layer, no air bubbles, more evenly distributed) they are also a buck and a half compared to the 20 dollar bristle brush i bought. Throw them out after use and start fresh with another one.
- After each coat i also wiped the surface down with a rag and mineral spirits, this seemed to work well for me in helping keep the dust away

Sorry no pics yet, i keep forgetting to buy some AA's. Thanks for the help everyone