Wipe down a sanded piece of furniture with a damp cloth before you stain. Let it dry naturally. The moisture will raise the grain of the wood and allow you to sand it down before you start staining.
This step will help theeasily stain soak in better and give you a nicer finish in the end.
Wear some gloves while you're working on a staining project.
Gently mix the stain before you start, shaking stain will leave you with bubbles that will end up on your finish.
Choose a synthetic brush for water based stains and a natural bristle brush for oil based.
Dip your brush into the stain and then working with the grain of the wood, use long even strokes to cover the piece.
Once you start working, you need to work steadily. allowing stain to dry on part of a piece will give you uneven results.
Once you've covered an entire section, use a lint free cloth to wipe the surface working in the same direction as your brush strokes. This will remove excess stain, lap marks and any pooling or bubbles.
Once the first coat is dry then use a superfine grit sandpaper to gently sand the piece to remove any surface imperfections that the stain raised. Wipe down the piece with a lint free cloth when you're done and then repeat the process until you've achieved the color you want.
I'm Mrs. Fixit and it's just that simple!
