
what gets wetter as it dries
Notice that all of these accepted copse stains are labeled “stain.” Only Minwax labels its stain a “finish.”
["339.5"]I generally appear beyond bodies who are abashed about the aberration amid a stain and a finish. They’ll use a byword such as “I appetite to stain the wood,” or “would you stain the copse for me?” aback what they absolutely appetite is some blush added to the copse and a accomplishment activated to deepen the blush and assure the copse from moisture. They’re including the accomplishment aural the chat “stain,” and the two are actual different.
If you’ve been accomplishing woodworking and finishing for a while, you apperceive the difference, and you apparently don’t alike apprehension anymore aback a architect labels their stain a “finish.”
Of course, I’m apropos to Minwax. Article bad should appear to this aggregation for the abashing it causes. I’ve absolutely heard austere woodworkers in seminars accessible the altercation by asking, “What’s the aberration amid a stain and a finish?”
In my aboriginal canicule of woodworking Minwax was a baby player, so it didn’t accomplish all that abundant aberration that their stain was mislabeled (a ever nice term). But through the years Minwax has bought lots of shelf amplitude and became arguably the ascendant amateur in the customer and amateur-woodworker market. During this time the aggregation afflicted buying so abounding times that there’s absolutely no one larboard who can explain how this mislabeling got started.
["436.5"]In case you’re abashed about the aberration amid a stain and a finish, here’s an explanation.
The accepted stain you buy at the abundance contains a little colorant, usually pigment, a little adhesive (finish) to “glue” the blush to the wood, and a lot of thinner. It’s actual attenuate and accessible to apply. You do this by wiping, brushing, dipping or spraying a wet coat. To get even-color after-effects you again clean off the balance afore the stain dries.
With oil-based stains that attenuate with mineral alcohol (paint thinner), which is generally alleged by the added abstruse agreement “petroleum distillate” or “aliphatic hydrocarbon” on the characterization aloof to accomplish you anticipate the artefact is article special, wiping off is accessible because the stain takes a continued time to dry. With water-based stains, which dry as fast as the baptize evaporates, you don’t accept abundant time, so you may charge to assignment faster, assignment on abate areas at a time, or get addition abroad to clean appropriate afterwards you apply.
The purpose of the stain is to change the blush of the wood, annihilation more. But a stain will lighten some as it dries. It will lose its “wet look.”
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A accomplishment is abundant thicker than a stain. Its purpose is to accomplish the wet attending abiding and assure the copse from moisture.
If you wet copse with any liquid, the copse becomes richer and deeper. But aback the aqueous dries, the copse goes aback to the attending it had before. A accomplishment makes the wet attending abiding because it dries in the wood. It doesn’t evaporate.
Protection is accomplished by applying several coats. With best finishes, such as polyurethane, water-based finish, bark and shellac, the coats dry hard, so you can besom or aerosol them and leave the excess. With oil finishes, the coats don’t get adamantine so you accept to clean off the excess, or you’ll get a bendable adhesive aftereffect that won’t be functional. Because of the consistent thinness, these finishes don’t assure well.
To accomplish a accomplishment that looks affluent and feels smooth, whether or not you administer a stain aboriginal to change the color, and whether or not you’re application a hard-drying accomplishment for bigger protection, you should administer at atomic two coats. Afterwards the aboriginal covering dries, the apparent will feel asperous because the aqueous has aloft the atom of the copse and bound it in place. You should beach this acerbity bland with accomplished sandpaper, usually 220 dust or finer. There’s no charge to beach added than aloof to accomplish the apparent feel smooth.
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Then abolish the dust, best with a exhaustion so as not to amount the air with the dust, and administer a additional coat. Afterwards sanding the aboriginal covering smooth, this additional covering will accomplish the copse ability its best abyss and richness.
Very simple and clear. So why does Minwax mislabel its stain?
– Bob Flexner
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