Staining Furniture 101

You all said you wanted part 2, well, today, we’re going to discuss staining furniture.  If you missed part one on stripping furniture you may want to check it out – click here.

So we’re starting with bare wood.  Either you’ve stripped your furniture as discussed above or you’ve used a palm sander to remove the finish or perhaps you are starting with bare wood, like our headboard.

Many of you have questions and concerns about the staining process.  I hope to address all of these in this post.  My very first staining project was our DIY “Reclaimed” Wood Headboard.  For this project, we used pine wood from the hardware store and once assembled I slapped the stain on and then wiped away the excess and voila!  A new headboard in a beautiful “special walnut” shade.

Here is what I do when staining furniture (I know there are many products out there, but I’m sharing the products I use – please feel free to share others you like in the comments – I think it is so important to learn from each other and share the knowledge).

Materials You’ll Need:
– Stain of your choice (I’ll share a few favorite shades later in the post)
– Tack Cloth
– Brush or clean rags to apply stain
– Extra Rags for Removing Stain
– Water / Container for safe disposal
– Top Coat  (I LOVE Miss Mustard Seed Hemp Oil)

Materials I Use

Staining Process
1. Make sure the surface is completely clean (and if you used a stripper wait 24 hours for the wood grain to lay down).  To make sure the surface is clean you can wipe with a tack cloth.

2. Stir your stain with a stirrer (do not shake as this will add bubbles).  You may need to stir a bit during application. Minwax recommends using a pre-stain conditioner on their site, but I’ve never used this on my furniture and have been very happy with my stained pieces.

3. Apply stain with either a clean rag or brush (I like using chip brushes) in the direction of the wood grain.  Allow stain to penetrate between 5-15 minutes.  Do this in a well-ventilated area.

4. Remove stain that hasn’t penetrate the wood with a clean cloth.  To darken, apply additional coat after 4-6 hours.

Applying Dark Walnut to our dining room table

5. Clean up – This is very important when dealing with stains because they are combustable and flammable.  You want to make sure you dispose of your rags and paint brushes properly.  Use mineral spirits to clean brushes and soak rags in water and then seal them in ziplock bag making sure to press the air out or put them in a sealed metal can (per instructions from Minwax label and hardware store).

A sweet reader in California (Hi, Josette!) told me about a friend who was staining her fence and left the cans and rags out and they spontaneously combusted causing a horrible fire.  So let’s be careful when handling these materials and always read all the manufacturer’s safety instructions.

6. Add a protective layer to your stained finish.  Wait at least eight hours to apply your protective top coat.  Many of you already love polyurethane.  I absolutely love Miss Mustard Seed Hemp Oil and use it on all my stained furniture.

It is very easy to use.  Simply, wipe on clean surface with a clean cloth, rub gently until it is absorbed into the wood.  I apply with the grain.  According to the label, “For additional sheen and protection, add 2-4 coats…allow two hours between coats and wipe away excess after 12 hours.  Finished piece may take several days to cure.  To maintain, apply a light coat every other year as needed.  To remove scratches, lightly sand blemish, then reapply the oil.”  Clean up with soap and water.

I love this product because it is so easy to use, is natural and I don’t have to re-sand the whole surface (as I did with my original dining table due to some blemishes).  I buy mine from Nancy at the Sea Rose Cottage but you can also get it from Miss Mustard Seed or any of her retailers.  I think you’ll love it and that is my honest opinion.

Now, your piece of furniture is stained!!!  Hooray!  Now you can move onto painting the rest of it if that is what your planning on doing.

I thought you might also like to see some of the stains I use.  I love Minwax.  I’ve always used them for my projects and had such beautiful results.  They have some great staining tips on their site too. Here are my favorite colors:

Minwax Jacobean:

I used this on Isla and wanted a dark contrast to the chippy MMS Milk Paint in Ironstone.  It is perfect together.  I fell in love with her and ended up keeping this one.  The surface looks as good as the day I took these photos.

Minwax Special Walnut:

This is my “go to” stain.  I love it with most colors.

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*Disclosure: their are affiliate links in this post for certain Minwax stains.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.