Prep before staining pine furniture?
Question:I want to strip the old stain from a pine dresser before I re-apply new stain. Do I use chemical stripper or sand or both? Thanks.
Answers:
I would avoid the chemical stripper because it will seap into the pine, and prevent the new stain from adhering evenly or properly. Instead sand off the offending stain.
Remember that patience in a virtue (and a well sought after one when it comes to sanding), you may be temped to use the belt sander but please don't! You'll just end up eating away sections of the dresser, instead use a medium grit paper and good quality/size cork/sanding block.
The trick I have found is that if you start thinking power-tools. put your sanding block down and have a break. Don't think you need to do it all in one go, or you will see your mistakes when the new stain is on.
Pine is a pain to stain evenly ..
Chemical strippers are OK,
The heavy paste strippers are less toxic & easier on the wood.
Avoid sanding as much as possible as it will expose wood fibers & that area will soak up stain more than others.
Bronze wool is gentler & will not dull any detail as much as sanding, esp on pine.
If you are going to stain & then apply a clear finish, apply 1 or 2 very thin (spit coats) of shellac ,cut 6 to 1 w/ denatured alcohol.
rub it out w/ bronze wool .
This will prevent stain from soaking into any soft spots.
Pine does not lend itself to high finishes so you might consider shellac which is easy to apply & gives a softer finish.
Several thin coats are better than going with uncut shellac.
You can also use "orange" shellac which is has a warmer tint.
Spray cans are quite good for final finish if you do several thin coats w/ a light rubbing in between w/ bronze wool.
Keep it clean with a tack cloth between well dried coats of whatever you decide to use..
Not a big fan of polyurethane esp the tinted ones..easy to mess up & a bear to touch up.
Take your time & read the first sentence again.
Best of luck
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