Not a big user of stain, I have a fairly major project with staining Oak to a Mahogany hue w gell stain.
To get the final colour, I seal the stain w 3 coats of orange shellac and then 3 coats of clear latex style (e.g. Varathane Diamond) finish.
The problem is that when sanding even with 400 grit I find on edges and other spots that I’m constantly sanding through the stain exposing the bare wood no matter how lightly I sand.
I’ve though of dispensing with sanding between coats for the Shellac coats as it tends to reflow due to the solvent, but even this doesn’t appear to work that well.
No better when I get to the latex poly stages – constantly having to re-touch w additional stain.
Suggestions?
Replies
The problem at the edges may be technique, but I would suspect the problem in"the field" may be that the surface is not flat enough before you are applying stain. If the surface is very flat, you should be able to lightly sand without knocking off any high-spots.
Sanding through a finish at an edge is likely to happen in many cases for two reasons.
First, any liquids will draw away from an edge, so you have less shellac or poly at the edges to start.
Second, no matter how flat your sanding block is, it takes only an imperceptible tilt or flex over the edge to remove what little finish is at the edge.
If, when sanding, your block goes past the edge, you are virtually certain to be taking more off the edge. Sanders, blocks and work are not perfectly flat and when you are talking about a finish that is thousands of an inch thick, it's easy to see why it disappears quickly.
This is why finishers often talk about touching up edges...
The best way to avoid taking the finish off an edge is no not sand it. Try sanding up to the edge, but not over it. If you have a drip line to remove, you'll need to be more careful. I've found using a cabinet scraper works well for smoothing those kinds or irregularities.
NJT,
In addition to the others' posts, I'll suggest that you soften (round over) the edges, if you are not doing so already. That gives the finish someplace to hold onto at the very corner, just as important, IMO, it has a more finished appearance.
Regards,
Ray
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled