Every wood staining project starts out in the imagination of the person executing it, but sometimes our DIY staining projects doing come out exactly as we’d imagined. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t attempt it, though. When it comes to paint, staining and other types of finishing, you can fix many of the problems that you run into.
The stain is too thick. This is a relatively easy problem to fix. Thick stain can cause stronger staining than you anticipated, so add a little paint thinner to bring it back to the consistency you want. Make sure you only use a small amount at a time though, or you’ll have the opposite problem!
Patchy wood staining. When working on large areas, you’ll end up needing several batches of stain, which can cause splotchiness. The best way to fix this is to prevent it in the first place. With DIY staining, you need to consider potential problems so you can make sure they don’t happen. So, if you’re going to be using several tins of stain, be sure to mix it all in a large bucket first to even out the coloring. You can also do this with paint. Staining should come out fairly even with this technique.
Unstained sections. This occurs for a few reasons, usually because the area to be stained wasn’t properly cleaned and prepared. Check for wet spots or glue, etc. that can prevent the stain from soaking in properly.
If you can paint, staining shouldn’t be a problem. DIY staining is a great way to save money and get the satisfaction of doing the wood staining yourself.
