STAINING WOOD

Staining Options

Water-Based Liquid Stains are growing in popularity because they clean up with soap and water and they dry quickly. They're now available in a wide range of colors as well. The main drawback is that they can raise the surface grain and require sanding to smooth out. 

Oil-Based Gel Stains are also popular because they're easy to apply with a rag, they don't run on the surface and they don't raise the grain. But they're harder to clean up and they don't come in as many colors.

Penetrating Oil Stains, also known as "Danish oils" or "rubbing oils" are often used on antiques and on trim with more attractive grain patterns. They penetrate more deeply than the other types of stains, color evenly and do not raise the grain.

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More Types Of Wood

• Oak

  Oak is the wood most commonly used for finer, more durable furniture. It’s a very hard, heavy, open-grained wood that grows from deciduous and evergreen trees in the United States, Canada, and Europe. It's found in both red and white varieties. Red oak (also known as black oak) has a pinkish cast and is the more popular of the two. White oak has a slightly greenish cast. Prominent rings and large pores give oak a coarse texture and prominent grain. It stains well in any color.

• Parawood

  Native to the Amazon region of South America, this wood is used for much of the furniture made in that region. Parawood can be traced back to the days of Christopher Columbus, when its seedlings were used in rubber plantations to produce latex. Today it’s used to build fine furniture, a new tree planted in the place of each that is cut. Parawood is just as hard as maple or ash, and takes a very even stain. Yellow in color, it has a medium grain similar to mahogany.

• Pine

  Pine is a softwood that grows in many varieties in various parts of the world. In the U.S., Eastern White Pine, Ponderosa Pine, and Sugar Pine are some of the types used to make furniture. Pine’s &quotknotty" characteristics provide warmth and individuality to each crafted piece. Usually light-yellow in color, the wood has a broadly spaced striation pattern. It’s ideal for children’s rooms, family rooms, beach cottages — anywhere you’d like an airier, lighter feel. Its natural grain and shades ensure that no piece is exactly alike. Excellent for staining.

• Poplar

  Poplar is a light-colored, softer wood that is more costly than pine, but less costly than oak or maple. It's generally straight-grained and "woolly" with a fine, even texture. Pale in color, similar to beech and alder, poplar grows throughout North America, Europe, and Asia.

• Redwood

  A hard, valuable, reddish-brown wood, redwood has a straight grain and a fine, coarse texture. Its coloring ranges from light-red to a deep reddish-brown, with very prominent growth rings. Weathering more gracefully than other woods, redwood is often used to build decks and outdoor furnishings. Stains can enhance its natural beauty and durability. Redwood grows along the Pacific coast of the United States in California and Oregon.

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