Method to use when applying stain

[acaron41120]

Getting ready to stain the decks of the skipjack. What method do most use in applying stain? Stain , sand, 2nd coat of stain, steel woo; etc.

And when finished should I use clear lacquer or should I use glaze? What's the difference?

[wefalck]

I am not really familiar with skipjacks, but if they had plain wooden decks, why would you want to stain and varnish  it?

 

Some people leave bare wooden decks bare wood, but one could also apply a sanding filler/shellac to aid sanding or rubbing down with steel-wool.

[Snug Harbor Johnny]

  Bare wood model decks not in a case can get dirty over time, and fine dust can get in the grain of the wood.  A thin coat of clear shellac or varnish can prevent this, and make future dusting/cleaning easier.  Note that 'stain' has a tendency so soak into some of the grain more than other parts of exposed wood that can lead to uneven coloration.  A way to limit this effect it to lightly apply a 'stain prep' or wood conditioner (Minwax makes a pre-stain conditioner) before applying colored stain.  The prep soaks into the grain ahead of the stain - the exposed fiber end 'drinking' the prep like through a soda straw.  With a few minutes rest, a light application of stain with a gathered lint-free cloth will lay some color over the prepared wood in a way that the color will be more even, with fewer, lighter dark areas.

[robert952]

Here's my thoughts from my 'wood working period.' A lot of the choices depends on the final look you want. 

 

After sanding the wood smooth and using a tack cloth to capture the sawdust. I apply stain usually only once. The stain usually ended up too dark with a second coat. Your results may vary. As I said, depends on the look you want.  

 

If the grain was raised I then lightly sand or use steel wool.  Tack cloth to pick up sawdust. Then a top coat like polyurethane with a finish I want for the piece (gloss, matte). Usually two coats, three if the surface will see actual heavy use (floors. desk tops). Steel wool (fine soft type) and tack cloth between coats. 

 

For the couple of models I have left natural, I have used tung oil and hand/cloth applied. Again two or three coats to get a smooth finish. I find tung oil also works well on natural unstained wood. 

 

I never used a glaze. Mom used 'stain' for her antiquing projects as it had different colors available and seemed to allow a second color for streaks and such. It was more likely a glaze but for her glaze was limited to ceramics and was fired. I think the choice of terms was so that I would bring the right can of stuff to here when she was working on some project.

 

Laquer for my tastes was always too shiny. But that's me. 

[bear]

Ahoy Mate

 

I have learned that if the wood is hardwood I can stain it without a sealing coat of somekind. The stain will not end up bloychy,but even. If it is softwood like basswood or other kinds of open grain I will need to seal it so that it will not end up very dark or uneven due to the stain soaking into the grain. I use Testors Dullcote a flat lacqure to seal the open grain. Especialy the end grain! If I am doing decks I use a light brown paint pen to color the edge of the plank,I seal the end grain with either the Dullcote or a PVA glue before using the paint pen. I do not stain my decks because most decks are naturaly light,unless you want a dirty and unkept look. In that case a grey would be correct since wood oxidizes fron the salt and sunlight. Look up photos of real ships and their decks.

 

Remeber test out your finsihes on scrap wood of the same kind BEFORE you do it on YOUR MODEL. That goes for caulking between planks too and treenails. And test out all the finshes you will use,be they a color coat or clear final finish. A clear final finsh might darken what you have underneth this final coat, and ruin what you wanted to end up with.

 

Keith from Troutdale,Oregon

[paul ron]

my personal choice for finishing raw wood is clear semi or flat spray acrylic first. if it needs color after the initial coat, ill add diluted stain to the clear and brush it on. you can add multiple coats till you get the desired depth of color. lightly sand between coats with a 400 wet dry paper to remove raised grain of the first coats.

 

i find i have more control of the color plus the clear makes cleaning dust off in the future easy because its coated with an acrylic. using flat or semi gloss will give you a beautiful oiled finish look.

 

experiment on some scrap of the same woods used.

Edited January 12 by paul ron