Cabinet & Furniture Finish Stains

¶ Cabinet and Furniture Finish : Stain on New Woods, Oak, Ash, Chestnut, Mahogany, Cherry, Walnut, Maple, Holly and Satinwood.

¶ Operation 1: Clean up the wood with duster and putty knife. Sandpaper rough places and see that all dust, dirt and grease are completely removed.

¶ Operation 2: Water Coat. For oak and all woods upon which water stain is to be used it is best to sponge the wood with warm water and let it dry. Water stains, and spirit stains to a lesser degree, raise the grain of the wood. It is better to raise the grain before staining and then to cut down the rough wood fibres with sandpaper than to stain and sandpaper after. So much rubbing is needed in some cases that the sandpaper cuts away part of the color beauty if done after the staining. After a water coat a water stain raises the grain but little and so little and light sandpapering only is needed.

¶ Operation 3: Sandpaper. All woods require perfect preparation with fine sandpaper, No. ½ and No. 00 to finish. Then the dust must be removed from the wood cells. In the furniture factories compressed air is used to blow it out.

¶ Operation 4: Stain. Use a high grade water stain. Brush it on uniformly and let dry at least 12 hours. If you anticipate any difficulty in brushing the stain uniformly sponge the wood with water immediately before staining and brush on the stain while the water is there. That will slow up the penetration of the stain a little and enable you to distribute it evenly and avoid an uneven coloring. After the stain is dry sandpaper it lightly with No. 00 sandpaper and clean up the dust thoroughly with duster brush and damp chamois skin.

¶ Operation 5: Putty. Fill holes, bruises and cracks with white lead putty, colored to match or a little darker than the stained wood. Mix the putty from white lead in oil, dry whiting and a few drops of japan drier. Wipe off all putty marks around the fillings to avoid clouding the finish in such places.

¶ Operation 6: Filler. Paste wood filler of fine texture and colored to match the stain, or darker than the stain, as the correct finish may call for should be brushed on and wiped off with great care as noted here.

¶ Operation 7: Shellac. One coat of thin pure shellac should be brushed on. A two-pound cut, 2 pounds of shellac gum to 1 gallon of denatured alcohol. Let it dry half an hour or longer and sandpaper it to make a fine textured surface. That will remove most of the shellac except what is lodged in the pores of the wood and places not filled by the paste filler. Clean up thoroughly with duster brush and damp chamois skin.

¶ Operation 8: Varnish. When a polished Tarnish is wanted apply three or more coats of first class polishing varnish. The first coat should be thinned about 25% with pure turpentine so it will not bridge over any open pores and will sink into the surface and attach itself well. A pale, transparent quality of varnish is needed to enhance the beauty of the stained wood. Under coats to be pale rubbing varnish and the last coat pale finishing, polishing varnish. Let each coat dry not less than 48 hours. Then rub each under coat with FF pumice stone and water on a felt pad as indicated in applying varnish. Rub just enough to remove the gloss and dirt nibs and then wash up well with water and dry with a chamois skin. Be sure to remove all pumice stone and dirt from corners, mouldings, etc. The last coat should be first class cabinet finishing, polishing varnish. Flow it on full, but not so freely as to cause running, sagging and wrinkling. After laying it off brush over it lightly with the empty brush, using the tip ends of the bristles only. That will pick up any excess of varnish and avoid trouble. When this coat is bone dry, so you cannot dent it with your finger nail, after two or three days, rub it fine with FF pumice stone and water or oil on a felt pad as per applying varnish. Clean up with benzine. Then polish as directed. When only two varnish coats are put on the rubbing must never be close. A light rub is permissible if carefully done. A high polish requires a solid, firm and level surface. That cannot be secured in less than four coats of varnish.

¶ Operation 9: Wax. Two coats of good quality, hard-drying wax may be put on after Operation 7 or after one or two coats of varnish have been applied. Apply the wax. Let each coat dry after polishing for at least two days and then polish to a hard surface with a weighted brush or a power driven rotary brush. Nothing but friction will put the hard glaze on wax which makes it durable. On small surfaces, of course, this polishing can be done with a sheeps wool pad or soft cloths or brushes.

¶ Operation 10: Dead Flat. When a dead flat, lustreless finish is wanted omit the filler and shellac coats, placing the wax directly upon the stain. It is better, however, to put on the coat of shellac and accept the slight lustre which comes with it. Or apply a good flat varnish before or after Operation 7 and omit waxing. That is not a real durable finish, but it is used for open grain finishes like oak where the rough, open pores of the wood break up the varnish effect. In such finishing the window sills and sash should be coated with good gloss varnish which can be rubbed to a dull finish with pumice stone and oil. Flat varnish will not withstand exposure well on such surfaces.

¶ Operation 11: Open-Grain Effects. When open pores are wanted, as in the ease of Jacobean, mission and weathered oaks, omit the paste filler and add an extra coat of shellac mixed thin. It is very important that all shellac coats on this finish be very thin, about 2 pounds of shellac gum to 1 gallon of denatured alcohol, and that they be uniformly spread to an even thickness to avoid filling up the pores too much and having laps and joints show.

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