Staining

Construction Lumber

Whether you’re experienced in finishing or not, I have a couple of techniques to share that you might not have tried, and I want to show you that it’s easy to properly stain and finish your furniture projects made from construction lumber. And I challenged myself to use only items that you can also find at your local home center.

Prep

I know you want to jump in and start staining, because you’re already exhausted from working on your project, but your stain absolutely relies on a well prepped surface, so there’s no way around this–you’ve gotta get sanding.

This is what it looks like when you don’t sand a 2x4 and put stain on it. Terrible. Unsanded 2x4 with stain This is what it looks like when you stain construction lumber that’s been sanded with bad technique. Even worse. Stained construction lumber with bad sanding technique The cliff notes for sanding are: start at 80 grit sandpaper with your random orbit sander, with no more pressure than the weight of your arm, travelling at one inch per second. Repeat for 120 grit, 150 grit, and finally 180 grit, no higher.

Use a pencil to mark your sanding area so that when your pencil mark disappears, you know you’ve sanded enough.

Vacuum off the surface completely in between grits, and when you finish. Connect your shop vac to your sander for the best results, increased sandpaper life, and healthier lungs.

You have to sand, it’s not optional!

Method 1

A gel stain is a slightly different type of product than a regular stain. Like the name implies, it has a gel-like consistency, and is heavily pigmented, which results in the colour penetrating less deep in the wood.

The most common first step in a stain method is to use a pre-stain conditioner, which supposedly evens out the look of a stain by reducing splotching that can be particularly noticeable in construction lumber. But I’m here to say that you don’t have to use it with a gel-stain. Gel stain test with pre-conditioner and without The side with the conditioner is maybe a smidge lighter, but I don’t notice any splotching or colour variations on the side without. Because the gel stain sits on the surface, rather than absorbing into the wood, it doesn’t give you any variations in colour that’s caused by differences in density. This is the inherent advantage of a gel stain.

So gel stains are simpler right? Well, we did eliminate the conditioner and therefore saved some time and money, but there’s a bit of a trick to them.

Removing the excess is absolutely crucial for gel stains. I messed this up on the coffee table I built a while back, and I had to sand off the entire top and redo it because I left too much excess on. It looked terrible and uneven. I didn’t share that part in the video ‘cause maybe I wanted to save face a little. So this is definitely a disadvantage of gel stain.

Otherwise, the application of gel stain is pretty much the same as any other stain, just excessively wipe it on, then wipe off the excess.

One of the biggest misconceptions that new woodworkers have is that stain will protect your project. This is false! You still have to add a protective finish on top of your stain, and it’s very common to use an oil-based polyurethane.

Oil-based finishes typically have an amber look to them, which can give the wood a warmer and richer look, and is also arguably more durable than a water-based acrylic, which is the next method.

The oil-based polyurethane is a strong finish, but this application method left some streaks and imperfections. The gel stain did not excel in obscuring the construction lumber, but rather accentuated the growth rings in a pretty darn ugly way, in my opinion. The next method usually gets more of an even tone.

Applicators

Have you ever heard “you must use a synthetic bristle brush to achieve a superior finish”? That hasn’t been my experience. I don’t think there’s a correct applicator. If you already have a preference between bristle brush, foam brush, or rag, then stick with what you like.

For applying the pre-stain conditioner, I’ve found that a foam brush works great, and makes the work go fast. Foam brushes can get a bad rep if people get too violent with them. But treat them like the delicate little tool they are, using only light pressure, and they will remain intact. Foam brush to use with pre-stain conditioner and clear finishes For applying stain, I like to use a clean cotton rag. You can also use foam brushes. I would just avoid using something like paper towel, because little paper fibres can come loose and then get stuck in your finish.

For applying a clear finish, I like using foam brushes again. I’ve never had much success cleaning bristle brushes, so I’m not sure how Bob Ross did it. I find they still degrade after a while, which means more time spent, and more money wasted. Also, the finishing process isn’t done with the application of the last coat of finish because there’s still more sanding to do. What this means is that the brush strokes you see now won’t matter later.

Method 2

If you’ve ever used oil-based stains and finishes, you’ll remember both how smelly they are, and what a pain they are to clean up. So, my go-to solution for when I just want something quick, easy, and no-nonsense, is to use a water-based stain and finish. Water-based products are easy to clean up with soap and water, and the lack of fumes means you won’t incapacitate anyone in your household.

The key to using this stain is to use a water-based pre-stain conditioner before starting. Water-based stain and finish used with pre-stain conditioner and without It’s apparent how much lighter the tone is with the pre-stain conditioner, but that’s not an issue. If you want it darker, try buying stain a shade darker than you think, to anticipate the effect the conditioner will have. Or an extra coat of stain might darken it up a bit too. What’s important to note is how much more even the conditioned is than the unconditioned. The areas around the knots are a dead giveaway of stained wood, and using the pre-stain conditioner really helps in making it less obvious..

You brush it on, let it sit for a bit, then wipe it off. You have between a half hour and two hours to apply your stain after the conditioner.

The pre-stain conditioner leaves the surface feeling a little rough because it raised the grain, so be sure to knock it down with some 320-grit sandpaper so it doesn’t feel like…sandpaper.

The one downside with water-based stains is that they can dry very fast, so you have to work quickly. Because of this, if a section were to dry before you get the stain on the whole surface, it might end up with overlaps that will look uneven. So, I wouldn’t recommend this for large panels, tabletops, or any big projects if you don’t have experience already. Poor water-based staining job showing overlaps I find the biggest advantage of water-based stains is that they can look much more uniform than oil-based stains. This is really helpful with blotchier softwoods like construction lumber. But I did apply an extra coat just to ensure I didn’t have any overlap marks.

For the clear finish, I used a simple, water-based acrylic. Since I know you’re probably already almost definitely and certainly tired of finishing and eager to move on, these types of finishes are really handy because they dry fast.

The caveat is, once again, you have to work quickly. Overlap slightly with your previous path and don’t go back and overwork an area already applied. Because water-based acrylic dries so fast, you’d end up smearing it, rather than smoothing it out.

Even though you can just brush on three coats and be done with it, I have a trick for getting a smoother result: after the second coat, lightly sand the surface with 320 grit and a pad to knock down any high spots. I don’t do this after the first coat, because there’s a greater risk then of sanding through the stain. Vacuum up the dust and apply a final, thin coat.

What’s nice with water-based products is you don’t have to wear a respirator because you’re not inhaling any organic fumes. If you use a bristle brush, it’s also easy to clean. Your hands don’t get full of oil, and nothing is going to spontaneously combust. Board with water-based stain and finish looking dull But, I think a couple improvements could be made. First, the look is a little flat. Water-based products don’t have the same depth that oil-based products give, they’re just the shallow end of the kiddie pool. Second, acrylic finishes aren’t typically as durable as oil-based polyurethane.

Grain Selection

I’ve talked about how construction lumber can show splotches and inconsistencies when the stain hits it. So one proactive thing you can do to avoid some of these deviations in colour should happen right when you start your project.

I find that splotchiness occurs particularly bad in and around knots, so I try to avoid them. I know, I know, some people think knots give a piece character, but I’m just not the biggest fan of the look. Dark stains can accentuate growth rings and cathedral grain Another thing to consider when staining any wood dark, is that that can accentuate growth rings. This is especially apparent in cathedral grain. Cathedral grain are those typical arches you see in flat sawn boards, which you can avoid by buying wider construction lumber and cutting your parts from the edges. This is all to achieve a more uniform look. Maybe you don’t like that kind of look, but maybe your significant other does.

Method 3

The last method might be the most involved, but it’s just a combination of a few things we’ve already gone over, so fear not. I find it gives the best overall look in the end.

This time I started with water-based conditioner, and then applied the water-based stain like the first method. Water-based stain is really good at providing nice even coverage, without splotching or variations. But remember, the downside is that it doesn’t have the same depth and pop that the oil-based stain has. So, now I added a coat of oil-based stain, ‘cause why not, right?

Since we want a more durable finish than water-based acrylic, I went back to the oil-based polyurethane, this time making it especially smooth.

Once again, after the second coat, I sanded with 320 grit to knock down any high spots. After a third coat, I got a little crazy. I sanded with 320 grit again, making sure that I got a nice and flat surface. Then I grabbed some 400 grit and sanded more. Then 600, 800 and finally a 1000 grit. It couldn’t possibly get any smoother, but I’d be lying if I said it looked its best.

To bring up the sheen a bit, I applied some paste wax, let it sit for ten minutes, grabbed a clean rag, and buffed the crap out of it. Then I decided it was too glossy, so I rubbed it out with three-ought steel wool. Results of stains and finishes testing I really like this result because I’ve got the even colour of the water-based stain, without the accentuated grain of the gel stain, and I’ve achieved the lustre of the oil-stain. I’ve got a durable finish from the oil-based polyurethane, which was applied for a super smooth result.

Was it more difficult? No. Was it more time consuming? Yeah. Do you need to sand that much? Probably not. In fact, you can pretty much combine any of the above techniques to see what works for best you.

Final Thoughts

Altering the colour of your construction lumber projects with stain can really level up your furniture’s appeal. By no means was this an exhaustive list of the different ways you can stain and finish a project, but my challenge was to figure out methods that work with items that you can find at your local home centre, so that’s what I did!