How to Prep wood for a new stain. Learning Project post #5

This week I will share a step by step how to re-stain wooden furniture.

Step 1: Remove the old paint or stain off of the wood piece that you wish to refinish.  I recommend a gel-based paint stripper especially if you will be removing paint or stain from vertical surfaces.  Watch this short video to help remove the old paint or stain.

Step 2:  After you have removed all of the old paint or stain than you need to prepare the surface, the first thing to do is to use a brass bristled brush and some steel wool (both can be found the most hardware stores). I used paint remover steel wool that is a little more aggressive on the wood.  You may have to apply a thin layer of stripper to use the wool and brush to its fullest capacity.  These tools will save your life and will make removing the final bit of paint or stain happen like a dream. If you would like a visual, visit Ron Hazelton’s Website, this video uses this technique.

Step 3: For this step, you will need to sand the wood.  I recommend using 120 or 150 grit sandpaper (can be found at most hardware stores).  Take a full sheet of sandpaper and cut it in quarters and fold each quarter in thirds.  I outline the technique for sanding in this video:

 

Step 4: Time to clean the wood for staining.  Sanding will leave a lot of dust and debris on the surface that you are refinishing.  This debris can create unwanted blemishes in your stain and leave impurities in your finished product.  So I use TSP (a cleaning solution found at most hardware stores).

Step5: Now the final part to cleaning the surface is using a Tack Cloth (a sticky cloth found at most hardware stores) to pick up any leftover debris from sanding or from dust settling from the air. How to do this is outlined in this video:

Step 6: Now it is time to apply the stain to the piece of wood that you desire.  This video will help you get started.

Step 7: After putting the second coat on, its time to prepare for the next coat or as many coats as you desire.  This video will help you prepare for another coat.

 

Helpful hint: To get better cuts and straighter edges on your sandpaper I built myself a sandpaper cutter.  How to do this is outlined in this video:

I hope this How to was some help.  Tell me about it in the comments.