Although the natural wood color looks good enough, adding beautiful color to it to match the environment is interesting.
A way that makes wood shine differently is to stain wood. With properly brushing, the wood tones will be highlighted or changed. Then you will see a big difference in the fresh new look.
However, wood species are various. Some are suitable for staining while some are not. If you are thinking about staining your wooden floor or wooden furniture, you should be aware of the below questions first.
1. What Is the Best Wood for Staining
Okay, before we stain wood, there is one thing that is important for us to know: which wood should I go for?
There are many wood species in the world and not everyone is suitable for staining.
1. Best Wood for Staining
We’ve sorted a list of some best woods for staining, you can see and choose which one is your favorite.
1. Oak
Usually, large pores help the wood take stain well, and oak has really large pores to take the stain color and make the stain looks great.
Sometimes woods you will that can not be painted and stained evenly, you would not find this problem in oak.
Besides, oak is relatively inexpensive and common to buy on the market. If you are going to DIY something, oak is a decent choice.
2. Cherry
Cherry already looks good enough with its red and brown classic color.
But if you are thinking of adding a darker tone to it, cherry wood works quite well.
The mixture of the original color of cherry and your Espresso stain will give you a fresh look.
The cherry grain is not visible as others so that you can have a smooth beautiful finish. It’s commonly seen in many home designs.
3. Ash
Ash takes stain well too.
Usually lighter toned woods have better ability to take the stain.
Ashwood can be stained evenly and fine. We don
4. Walnut
Actually, not many people will stain walnut furniture because the walnut is expensive and looks elegant enough already.
But walnut is indeed a good wood to take stain.
The stain can penetrate and color the walnut easily and smoothly.
Although every wood can be stained, the colors after staining are various.
For example, woods that have fine pores like birch and maple usually are not considered to be a good wood for staining. They don’t take stain well.
We prefer porous wood when choosing wood to stain.
Stain a with a dark table with a light stain, it’s also not a smart thing to do.
2. Tips for Staining Wood
After picking a good wood, the staining method is another vital.
We do not need to go pro like a real carpenter, but there are a few things that you should pay attention to when staining wood.
1. Stir and mix your stain thoroughly
No matter you are using an oil stain or water-based stain, it’s important to stir your stain first.
But don’t overdo it, or your stain will have bubbles.
You don’t want to make your wooden furniture has multiple colors.
Having a nice even stain finish is our goal of staining.
2. Test your stain
If you have extra wood material, you can test the stain before applying it to your furniture.
Adding a wrong color accidently is a disaster and there is no way back once you get started.
3. Do not brush too hard
Some people who want a dark and richer color, they will use their brushes too hard on the wood.
Try to apply a second time instead of brushing too hard.
Having a second coat according to the label directions will easily make the wood darker and better.
4. Get a protection stain
A topcoat stain is usually for protection.
After staining, we can not let the gorgeous color be hurt by spills or dirt.
Use wax or varnish to protect your stain is your last step.