I built a new mantle for our fireplace... basically just a box that slides over our existing mantle. It is made of the common 1x8, 1x6 kiln dried pine you get at Home Depot. My wife would like it stained to a dark walnut type color.

I’ve never stained wood before.

Can somebody help me with the process? I know I’ll be sanding it for a while, but I’m not sure what grain papers I should be using and in how many steps?

And then I read that I should “condition it”, then stain it, then seal it? So 3 different products?

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated...

Always have an idea of what you want the final product to look like before you buy anything, as that will greatly influence what you will need to finish the job correctly. Find a picture of what you want it to look like first and call me at work tomorrow and I’ll go over with you the steps you should consider to reach your goal.

800-262-5710, ask for Brian in technical services

Definitely should use a pre-stain first on pine so the dark walnut stain does not come out blotchy. You can get pre-stain from any big box store. Practice on a scrap piece of wood first.

I personally do not like staining wood to look like something else.

With that said, make sure all nail holes are filled with a filler just a shade or two lighter than your stain. (A white filler for pine with stain much darker than the wood will)

Make sure the wood is free of all oils (like from the tools and hands). The is especially true if the wood is premilled. A light sanding with 220 or 320 grit should suffice.

Pine is one of the softest woods out there. Expect to have the distressed look and a requirement to spot stain in the future (ie, do not toss your extra stain or at least take note of the brand and color)

If you can pull the mantle for staining, do it.

Definitely do some practice on some scrap to get the colors you want.
I really like the minwax products get some gloves and a rag and apply. Using a Pre stain is a good idea as pine is a sponge.

There are lots and lots of ways to finish wood. Right now I’m using oil based stains on a floor. I have three different shades, plus paint thinner if I want to make one little thinner. In theory, you can thin oil based stain as thin as you want.

I’ve also made stains with common household tea, rubbing it in to seal the wood. And then tinted spirit varnish over top. But for what you’re doing, a stain sealer right out of the can is the easiest thing. It looks like a small project. So you do not need much

I’d go to the hardware store, buy two or three of the small cans of the stain you’d like. Get one of the darker ones and one or two of lighter kinds. And experiment on the inside of your mantle box. Before you tackle the outside. If you get the oil base stuff do it out in the garage. And watch how you dispose of your rags. In theory they can self combust.

Pine does not stain well. It often will turn out blotchy. You will need to use conditioner and follow the directions closely. May also need to do spot staining aftwards. Parts of the grain will drink the stain up and other parts will reject it.

Have you considered burning it instead?

quote:

Have you considered burning it instead?

I presume you mean with a blowtorch to give a weathered look...or did you actually mean toss it on the fire?

quote:

Originally posted by Zecpull:
Definitely do some practice on some scrap to get the colors you want.
I really like the minwax products get some gloves and a rag and apply. Using a Pre stain is a good idea as pine is a sponge.

Dis da truff.

There are quite a few videos out there that will walk you through the process and talk about staining different types of wood.

Here's Wayne Henderson staining the walnut back of a guitar he's making. "What happens if you get stain on the front (unstained spruce top)?" I sand it off.. He makes his stains from pigment + solution.

https://americantoolbox.files....-2015-shop-bench.jpg



On the c.1926 fir floor I'm restoring - a softwood - I've encountered every obstacle imaginable. Including rubbery wartime varnish. The wood has severely shrunken in places. Abandoned the project 20 years ago, and done only a "quickie" in 2005.

Everything suspect is being screwed to joist (a multi-step process). The gaps raked, vaccumed, puttied, and sanded flush. The finished seams are stained by artist brush and a custom dark walnut pigment I whipped up using a can of 40 year old sludge from dad's garage plus thinner. Then a rosewood stain over everything except where the 1940s varnish is embedded; that'll get a wipe of a honey-shade stain. It all feathers together fine, looks natural, the provenance of age apparent and pleasing. If only women liked that look on me.

quote:

Originally posted by sjtill:

quote:

Have you considered burning it instead?

I presume you mean with a blowtorch to give a weathered look...or did you actually mean toss it on the fire?

Yes, blow torch. Pine sucks as firewood.

Random pic from the internet:

Before staining wipe the wood down with a damp cloth to raise the grain. Then sand with 120 grit paper. use a damp cloth again and sand with 200 grit paper.

By doing this you will make the wood very smooth, and it will absorb the stain more evenly.

put one coat of stain on the wood and sand with 300 grit paper when dry to make it smooth to the touch, then put another coat of stain on the wood and sand with 400 grit to smooth everything to the touch.

My parents used to refinish and repair furniture for a living, and while I don't like to do it I did a bunch of sanding and staining as a teenager to pay for my clothes, and hobbies.

Pre-stain conditioner

Stain

Sanding sealer

Poly

Paste wax

I'm just going to come straight out and say it...trying to stain pine sucks. The end result, no matter how many precautions you take will never look like real walnut. Rule of thumb is simple, if you want something to look like walnut, make it out of walnut, and top coat it. Short of that, I'd burn the hell out of what you built with a torch like skins suggested, then sand is back a bit to remove anything loose, and then finish it with a top coat of poly.

Brown liquid shoe polish and an old tee shirt buff works fine.

Or get a pint of 151 vodka and a big handful of rich clay soil. Combine. Smear and rub into the pine. Wipe off excess, then leave in the sun for 10 days. Lightly buff with 0000 copper wool. Done.

Using a gel stain rather than a traditional stain will help with the blotchiness problem.