Before we talk about how to choose the right stain, you need to at least know what it is. So, stain is a tinting liquid that is used to change the color of wood, plywood, furniture, chipboard, fiberboard, MDF. Sometimes instead of the word “stain” you can hear the popular name “stain”. Stains are divided according to the place of use into internal and external. Internal ones are used indoors, and external ones are used for facade work. A distinctive feature of external stains is the presence of a special pigment that protects the composition from ultraviolet rays and, as a result, fading. In fact, no other differences are observed. website

In addition to the internal/external classification, stains can be distinguished that differ in composition. So, stains can be alcohol-based, solvent-based, water-borne, nitro, wax-based or oil-based. Some stains are applied with a brush, while others are applied with a spray gun. These are different compositions. Stains can be prepared at the factory, or produced in the form of a powder, which, after contact with water, turns into a tinting liquid.

Before choosing a stain, you need to decide what exactly will be tinted. If, for example, you are going to treat a dining table or a crib, then the composition must be safe, that is, it must contain a minimum amount of volatile compounds. It is best if they are not included in the composition at all. These stains include wax, oil and water-borne varieties. A layer of varnish can be applied on top of these products, regardless of its composition. You can also use wax or oil with added wax. There is no layer conflict in this case.

Alcohol stains can similarly be produced in ready-made or powdered form. But this case has its own characteristics. Alcohol stain is convenient for treating doors and furniture, but it is better not to use them for stairs and parquet. If your hand trembles, an unflattering stain will form on the product being painted. And you will have to re-sand and re-apply. In general, when applying stain, make sure that no one is in the way. It is better to apply the alcohol composition using a spray gun (spray), which will help guarantee a more or less acceptable result. We would recommend purchasing a ready-made composition. Powder stain should be diluted exclusively with 96% alcohol. But it is not a fact that the alcohol you purchase for these purposes will be exactly 96 percent. Therefore, eliminate the risk and purchase ready-made alcohol stain.

But oil and wax stains can be used anywhere, and absolutely any tool can be used to apply them. Such stains may cost more, but their convenience is undeniable. They are great for touch-ups and restorations without leaving any signs of additional work. Another important feature is the absolute environmental safety of such compounds.

Rules for tinting wood using stain.

The natural color of a parquet board or wooden floor is quite attractive in itself. But sometimes there is a need or a simple desire to create a new color scheme for the floor, furniture or parquet. This can be done using a special colored stain.

The application of stain must be preceded by preparing the wood. First, the wood should not contain any coating. It is optimal to use stain on a new board. If the coating is still present, it is completely removed by sanding. Remember that even a new board will need to be pre-sanded with sandpaper No. 180-230, which will help open all the wood pores that remain open for half an hour. It is during these 30 minutes that you will have to do the main work on using the stain. If you are late, the pores will close and the compound will not be able to penetrate deep enough into the wood. Sanding is carried out along the wood grain.

The stain can be either ready-made or water-based. If you received the powder version, then the colored solution must be made in strict accordance with the instructions. For stains, you need to mix hot water and powder, stir an additional two minutes later, and use the stain on the surface. Before applying the stain, we wet the wooden surface with water, using a napkin or sponge, and then sand it again. Only then do we take up the brush. By the way, it is better to use a round brush with Chinese bristles. Make sure that the lint does not come out of it, otherwise the hairs will remain on the surface.

So, apply the stain using a brush. We don’t skimp on the composition; we apply it generously, along the grain. The layer should be even. If unevenness occurs, stains may form. Fortunately, wood pre-treated with water will greatly facilitate your task in this direction. When the first layer of stain dries (2-3 hours), you can apply the composition in a second layer, resulting in systematic mixing. The second coat can be applied in a different color to achieve a unique effect.

The stain from these companies has an excellent composition, including the smallest pigments. This ensures that there are no stains when tinting. The stain will easily penetrate into all the fibers and channels of the wood, providing virtually natural aesthetics that do not carry an ounce of artificiality. The color shade will look extremely natural.

Wood tinting using rustic stain.

We want to tell you about rustic stain, which was developed taking into account modern design features of arranging and processing wooden floors. Stain or stain is used when it is necessary to create a rustic aesthetic for wooden floors using the most common materials. Rustic aesthetics involve highlighting the natural wood grain, which is especially impressive when treating oak floors. Rustic stain allows you to add a variety of color tones to your wood floors.

Rustic stain is sold ready to use, so you can use it immediately after purchase. We sand the wooden floor to open all the pores in the wood for 30 minutes. Shake the contents of the jar, open it and apply stain using a brush with natural bristles, making sure that it does not “climb”. The stain will go through all the wood channels and pores of the floorboard. Beitz is a product of the highest quality, as a result of which you will get excellent results. The composition will lie on the wood as smoothly as possible, without leaving stains. In addition to directly tinting the wood with rustic stain, it is necessary to carry out finishing treatment. Additional treatment will make further maintenance of the wooden floor easier.

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Toning changes the color of wood and is used when the carver does not have wood of the desired color on hand or when doing veneering.

Toning of small relief carvings

Fine-relief (especially high-relief) and slotted carvings, with any manifestation of humidity, begin to warp and swell, while the shape and appearance of the product completely change.

To tint such carvings, you can use natural dyes or the dye of an old felt-tip pen, which is diluted with turpentine to the desired concentration (turpentine does not cause wood to swell or warp). After such staining, the product dries well, after which it can be coated with nitro varnish (turpentine and nitro varnish do not interact).

Toning with natural dyes is done as follows: The prepared dyes are applied to the product by lightly touching it with a soft brush. You should not tint the entire product the first time; the solution is applied only to very light areas. When tinting, care should be taken to ensure that the wood does not swell and the carvings do not become deformed. All other places that need tinting are corrected only after the first layer of solution has dried.

Since there is a possibility of swelling of wood with fine-relief carvings, tinting, except for the method using turpentine, is best done on a product coated with varnish.

Toning a varnished product

Tinting over varnish makes it possible to see the result of painting immediately (the tinting after varnishing changes slightly). For such tinting, water-soluble dyes are not used, but those that dissolve in organic solvents are used. Felt-tip pens have the necessary qualities: the felt of an out-of-use felt-tip pen is dipped into the varnish. The felt-tip pen gets wrinkled and the varnish is immediately colored. The varnish, tinted to the desired concentration, is applied to the product.

Varnished wood can be easily tinted with alcohol stain.

Since the methods described above do not include natural components, this implies their fragility, but only temporary, and insufficient light fastness. It is best to use natural ingredients, such as onion peels, which color hot water well and are practically insoluble in alcohol. The onion peel solution is applied to the varnished surface of the product several times. As a result of tinting, a weak golden tint is obtained. More intense solutions of natural components are obtained with vodka (vodka dissolves stain stain very well).

Oil paint tinting

This kind of tinting is done by wiping the surface (almost dry) with a small amount of artistic oil paint. For these purposes, red or orange paint is most often used. Oil paint gives good light fastness. This type of tinting is mainly used for wood that requires an initial color change and in small areas.

Before tinting, the surface of the product is coated with vegetable oil or vegetable oil with the addition of drying oil (about 15%). After absorption, excess oil is carefully removed with a dry cloth. A small amount of undiluted paint is rubbed into the wood using a finger or a brush with very short bristles. When rubbing paint, you must ensure that the texture of the wood does not change. If the tone is too strong, remove the excess paint with a cloth soaked in oil. The tinted product is aged for one to two weeks and covered with oil or varnish.

There is a wide variety of wood stains, differing in color and composition. Wood will always be popular, because it is a beautiful and environmentally friendly material. However, like all natural decorative elements, boards are afraid of moisture and are a favorite habitat for insects, fungi, mold and other microorganisms. To increase the service life of things made from wood, various protective agents and antiseptics are used. Today we will talk about such a wonderful substance as stain, with its help you can not only solve some problems associated with premature damage to wooden materials, but also give your products an unusual and noble appearance.

What is wood stain

Wood is a strong and durable material that is susceptible to adverse environmental factors, therefore, in order to protect products made from it from possible damage, they must be treated with special means. On the construction market you can find a huge number of different antiseptics, varnishes and other impregnations that change the color and some properties of wood; the most popular and inexpensive product is stain. Some people think that stains are used only to change the color of an object, but this wonderful drug also has other properties.

The color of wood stain should be chosen depending on the interior design.

The properties of stains may vary depending on their composition. However, even if you do this tint yourself, it will still have some protective properties.

Properties of stains:

1. If you want to change not only the color of the wood, but also highlight its texture, then stain is just what you need. It does not completely cover the design, like paint, but gives the entire product a pleasant shade.
2. Staining wood will protect furniture from insects and rot, while maintaining the texture and grain of the wood.
3. Stain is a protective agent that increases the service life of wooden objects and costs several times less than varnish and paint. In addition, due to its watery consistency, it penetrates deeper into the wood structure.
4. With the help of stain, you can make even inexpensive pine, painted with colored stain, look like noble and strong oak and exotic mahogany.
5. Tinting with stain can lighten the wood. This technique is especially often used before painting wooden products.
6. Impregnation with stain will strengthen the structure of the wood and give it a slight moisture-proof property.

Not all stains have the above qualities. To understand what kind of stain you need, you need to read its composition and see what the instructions for use say. By the way, you can treat not only solid wooden boards with stains, but also chipboard, objects made of plywood or parquet and other wooden crafts.

Water-based wood stain and alcohol stains

Water-based stains are the most environmentally friendly stains. They do not have a strong unpleasant odor and are easy to use.

This product can be sold as a dry or ready-made mixture. Such dyes are most popular due to their low price and the possibility of their use for both interior and exterior work.

Water-based wood stain can significantly improve the appearance of wood flooring

Main characteristics of water stain:

1. The colors of water-based stains are very diverse. With their help you can create a very interesting iridescent effect.
2. You can use water sprays without fear for your health. Even at the highest temperatures, such products do not emit harmful fumes.
3. If you decide to experiment and are wondering: “Which stain to choose so that it can be washed?” – then water stain is what you need. This tinting agent can be easily washed off with water, so painting the floor with it is impossible.
4. Tinting a wooden surface with this method makes its texture more noticeable. Unfortunately, this makes the product more sensitive to moisture, so it will need to be opened with varnish.

It is extremely undesirable to tint resinous tree species with such impregnation, as unsightly stains may appear on them. For such products it is better to use alcohol impregnations.

How long does alcohol impregnation take to dry? Almost a few seconds! This property is both an advantage and a disadvantage. Thanks to it, you can cover the butt of a sporting rifle with alcohol stain, and use it in just a few minutes, however, a large area can only be stained with a spray gun, otherwise the surface of the product will become covered with unpleasant stains and stains, and even varnish will not help correct the situation. The alcohol impregnation consists of alcohol and dyes.

Treating wood with this impregnation will make it more resistant to ultraviolet radiation and high humidity. However, due to the unpleasant odor of this product, working with it is only possible in an open space.

Advantages of oil-based stains and wax and acrylic stains

Oil-based stain comes in a wide range of colors and shades. It costs more than water sprays, but it also has more useful properties. This preparation can be used not only to change the color of the product, but also to emphasize its texture.

Treating wood with oil-based stain is easy and convenient; it is applied in a thin layer and does not lift the fibers of the product. Also, this tinting does not fade under the influence of sunlight, makes the wood resistant to temperature changes and protects it from moisture. Oil stains can be removed using white spirit solvent; it can also lighten painted wood a little. It differs from compositions with similar properties in that it does not require varnish to secure it. The disadvantages of staining with oil include: long drying of the tint and its toxicity.

Oil-based stain can be applied using a regular brush.

It is very important to find a stain from a responsible and conscientious manufacturer. Judging by the reviews, the most popular companies are Vartan, Latek, Novbytkhim and Herlak.

Acrylic and wax stains are very easy to apply; they apply in a uniform layer and do not leave stains or streaks. However, due to the rapid drying of such stains, you need to work with them very quickly.

Wax stain is used to protect wood from moisture. It can be used to treat parquet. This stain is not resistant to mechanical damage, so to extend its service life, it is better to use varnish.

Acrylic, also known as rustic, stain perfectly emphasizes the texture of wood. With its help you can get a variety of shades, which is why this drug is so popular. Wood painted with such stain will still need to be opened with several layers of varnish.

Wood stain colors

Wood stains differ not only in composition, they come in different colors and shades. Most often, a dark mixture is used; it gives the products a more noble appearance. With the help of such stains, ordinary larch and maple can be turned into oak boards.

Modern stains can give wood the most unusual shade. However, to this day the range of natural wood colors is considered the most popular.

Before choosing a wood stain color, you should study the designers' recommendations.

The most popular stain colors:

• Pine;
• Birch;
• Bleached walnut;
• Plum; Red tree;
• Olive;
• Rosewood;

There are many such examples. It is noteworthy that the names of the same shade from different companies can differ greatly. When choosing the color of stain, first of all, pay attention not to the color palette that is printed on the packaging, but to the samples printed on birch boards.

It is also important to consider that the intensity of the color of the stain depends on the type of wood on which it is applied. Giving a dark shade to an item if the wood from which it is made will be more difficult than darkening an oak item. A non-aqueous stain will not be able to stain a pine board well enough unless it is first desalted, but water-based stains are generally unsuitable for resinous wood species.

White wood stain

To give your furniture a white color, you don't have to paint it. A lightening stain is also suitable for such work, which will not only make the product lighter, but also emphasize its structure.

Wood stain is intended not only to give the product a lighter shade, but also to protect it from adverse environmental conditions. It is very important to consider, when considering different types of such a product, how and what you will apply it to. If there is a risk that moisture will spill onto the surface of a bleached object, then it is best to use wax, oil and acrylic preparations, but if your craft will be in a dry and ventilated place, then water stain will also work.

With the help of white stain you can visually expand the room by applying it to the flooring or wooden walls

Using white stain you can achieve a very interesting effect and create an aged finish. It must first be painted with a white water-based stain; after it dries, the object must be treated with a stiff brush. A dark-colored wax or oil stain is rubbed into the formed pores on the wood.

When using water stain, do not forget about the protective layer. The painted product must be treated with wax or oil.

Light stains do not always have a pronounced color. There is a colorless stain that is applied solely to protect the wood from adverse natural factors.

How to make your own stain

It is not necessary to buy ready-made stain. By mixing dyes such as coffee, a few drops of iodine or black bark shavings, and some chemical elements, it can be made at home. Homemade stain is not only effective, it is also natural.

1. Boil a glass of larch bark in a glass of water. The resulting product can be used to coat birch products; it will give them a beautiful reddish tint.
2. Grind the dried walnut shells into powder and boil for ten minutes. The resulting decoction must be mixed with soda. Apply the solution to light-colored wood and it will turn brown. If you want to change the color of the product, you can treat it with vinegar or potassium bichromate. In the first case, the shade will be gray, and in the second, red.
3. Brewed tea or coffee can give the wood different shades. The intensity of the colors depends on the strength of the brew.
4. Using a solution of potassium permanganate you will paint the product cherry color.
5. A red tint can be achieved by soaking rusty nails in vinegar for several days. Black stain is obtained by adding a decoction of oak or walnut leaves to a vinegar solution.

To properly make stain with your own hands, you need to first watch the instructional video

They make their own stains quite often. They turn out to be environmentally friendly and harmless. Unfortunately, they all tend to fade, so to preserve the color of the product, you need to apply a layer of varnish over the stain.

Tinting wood with stain: step-by-step instructions

To make the product look neat and beautiful, you need to cover it with stain correctly. If the stain is applied poorly, it can fade in just a few weeks; also, if you do not follow the staining technology, you risk getting a surface covered with stains.

How to properly stain objects:

1. First of all, it is necessary to remove a layer of old paint from the surface of the product. This can be done using sandpaper.
2. Next, the surface is degreased with alcohol, white spirit or gasoline. If the product is made from resinous tree species, then it is deresined.
3. The stain is heated and applied in a thin layer to the surface of the product. The top of the item is processed first. Layers are applied on top, one on top of the other, until the desired shade is achieved.

After the stain has dried, the product must be coated with several layers of varnish. Before applying a new layer, the dried varnish is treated with fine-grained sandpaper.

Wood stain (video)

Stain is a great way to change one color of wood to another. Such products come in different types, they can have different compositions and colors. Use stain correctly and you will be rewarded with a beautiful product.

Details: stain colors for wood (photo examples)

Antique wooden furniture always serves as interior decoration. But what if you want to update your decor a little? And I seem to be completely bored with the natural color of wood... Solid wood furniture tinting– a great way out! Doing tinting yourself is not that difficult. The main thing is to select the necessary materials and be extremely careful in the process.

Selecting materials

Several types of coating are suitable for tinting wood yourself. Their choice depends on what result you want to achieve in the end. Here are the most common coloring compositions:

• Acrylic paint. You can buy it not only in construction stores. It saturates the surface well, but there is a significant drawback - when wood strongly absorbs the tinting composition, the fibers of its structure rise strongly. Therefore, it is better to mix acrylic with other substances for decoration. For example, with molding or glazing.
• Mordant. This is a dry pigment that is diluted with water before application. The big plus is that this dye does not saturate the surface, but simply clogs small particles of wood. Tinting with this composition will help to avoid unevenness and roughness of the structure. The mordant does not just color, it penetrates deep and acts chemically. This means that the brightness of the resulting colors is guaranteed! But after tinting the wood using this method, the array must be varnished. Otherwise, if moisture gets in, stains may remain on the furniture.
• stain. The best option for tinting wood yourself. It does not lift fibers and does not require the application of an additional layer of varnish. You can also purchase patination - this is almost the same as stain, but its shades can be adjusted.

Along with the dye, buy a special brush for woodworking or a roller, a swab and a lint-free cloth. It is better if the brush is made of natural bristles, although synthetic materials - nylon or polyester - are also suitable.

Let's start tinting

There are several ways to tint. Paint by hand, spray or dip. The most common method that can be successfully used at home is painting with a brush. So, the old wooden bedside table is ready for its color transformation. And this is what she has to do:

• Cleaning and sanding. Before painting, it is important to level the surface and make the wood structure as smooth as possible. An ordinary sandpaper will help with this.
• Applying stain. Using a roller or brush, spread the paint evenly over the wood along the grain. And to remove excess, simply rub the stain with a dry cloth or swab.
• Paint drying. This stage is extremely important. It is better to be patient and wait until the layer dries thoroughly. Only in this case can you evaluate the final result of the work and the resulting shade. If it is not saturated enough, you can apply the stain again.
• Varnish coating. This completion of tinting prolongs the wear resistance of the colored wood product.

DIY wood tinting– the process is quite labor-intensive. However, if you love creativity and are not afraid to try new things, then this type of work will certainly bring maximum pleasure. And bright wooden interior items will delight you every day!

Mix two parts denatured alcohol with one part concentrated shellac polish to make a liquid mixture. Then give it color by adding one or two drops of coloring alcohol concentrate for every 100 ml of polish. Apply the composition to the product with a brush, swab or spray to obtain a pure and uniform color.

Many woodworkers use only stain to change the color of wood products, but when working with dense wood, better results can be achieved using dyes or shellac. Solid wood can be considered the carpenter's version of a blank painting canvas - it is almost white and can be given any color.

If you want richer colors or a traditional range of wood tones, you can use more than just regular food coloring. Just remember that when it comes to dense wood, pigment stain may not be the best choice. Much better results can be achieved using dyes or shellac polish, and this is clearly demonstrated by the stool shown in the photo above.

Compositions called stains, contain relatively large particles of pigment, which are deposited on the surface and accumulate in the smallest cracks and pores. On dense wood there are almost no places where pigment could linger. If you wipe off excess composition, the resulting color will be too faded, and what remains will create an untidy variegation, since the direction of the grain in the wood often changes, creating areas of different absorbency.

Dyes and stains work differently. Dyes penetrate the wood, imparting color to its fibers. Pigment stains are like liquid paint that sits on the surface and can expose uncolored fibers when wiped off.

Unlike stains, dyes do not contain solid particles, but molecules of coloring substances that penetrate the surface of wooden parts. They give the wood a deeper and richer color, and also soften the contrast a little, but sometimes even in this case it is not possible to avoid spotting. The range of dyes is very diverse, and in their palette you can find bright colors.

Application of dyes

Dyes are used in the form of aqueous, oil or alcohol solutions. You can use any of them by purchasing them in a specialized store or ordering them from a catalog. However, it is preferable to use water-soluble dyes. They penetrate deeper into the wood than others, and therefore do not fade longer. Alcohol dyes fade the fastest, while oil dyes occupy an intermediate position on the light fastness scale. Water-based dyes lift wood fibers (called lint). Prevent problems by sanding the surface. The next day, wet it with clean water and finally remove the lint by sanding with 220-grit sandpaper. Then apply the coloring water solution without fear of the lint rising again.

Dyes are sold in the form of a liquid concentrate or dry powder. When mixing the powder with water, some of it may not dissolve, forming small lumps, so strain the solution through a paper or gauze filter. Test the effect of the prepared solution on a sample of maple wood. If you are satisfied with the resulting color, apply the solution to the product using a brush, sponge or pad, and then wipe off the excess before it begins to dry. You can adjust the result by applying solutions again and again and changing their color to achieve the desired shade.

Shellac

Bright dyes work great on dense wood, but sometimes when painting it in traditional wood colors you may encounter uneven toning. If you notice this on your sample, try using a colored shellac polish. Prepare it by dissolving 30 g of shellac flakes in 250 ml of denatured alcohol, and then add the alcohol solution of the dye.

Mix the composition thoroughly and check its color on a sample. Then apply it to the product using a sprayer, brush or swab. Shellac creates a thin film on the surface that keeps the dye from penetrating deep into the wood, thereby helping to get rid of stains.