The Library of Work and Play: Home Decoration

by Charles Franklin Warner

Object of Staining.—Up to this point the processes of finishing considered have assumed that the wood treated is to retain its natural colour, excepting that it may darken with age. But it is often desirable to give artificial colours to woodwork—i. e., to dye or stain it. This is done for a variety of purposes—to reduce to one tone the different shades of the natural colour often found in the same kind of wood, to bring out the natural beauty of the grain and texture, to give an entirely new colour to the cheaper kinds of wood in imitation of the more expensive kinds, and to produce tones that will harmonize with various colour schemes. To accomplish this great variety of results, scores of different kind of wood dyes or stains have been put upon the market in almost countless shades and tints, but they are all easily classified under three heads. They are oil stains, water stains, or alcohol stains.

A Perfect Stain.—A perfect stain, if it could be obtained, would be a clear, limpid liquid, free from all solid particles or specks of colouring matter that might clog the pores of the wood and interfere with the absorption of the filler—so clear and transparent that it would in no way obscure the grain of the wood, which in many varieties is the chief element of beauty—so limpid that it would easily soak deep into the pores of the wood, carrying to a considerable depth below the surface an artificial colour which will not fade on exposure.

Water, Alcohol, and Oil Stains Compared.—The water and alcohol stains on the whole meet these requirements better than the oil stains do. They are clear, and without body, and they have great penetration. But they are not free from faults. Many of the water stains are made from aniline dyes which are not durable. The alcohol stains, however, are generally permanent. Both the water stains and the alcohol stains raise the grain of the wood and are liable to show darker in corners and on end grains and to show laps from re-brushing. The oil stains, on the other hand, are free from these faults. They spread easily and evenly, they do not raise the grain, they do not double up or show laps or streaks, and they do not fade; but they have a few defects which overbalance these good qualities. They have considerable body which prevents them from penetrating equally all parts of the surface, so that they do not carry in the colouring as either the water or the alcohol stains do. Their oily nature causes them partly to close up the filaments of the wood and thus interfere with the subsequent process of filling. This is so bad a defect that oil stains are not to be recommended for open-grained woods, the fine finish of which depends so much on correct filling. They are more successful with the close-grained woods, which need only to be surfaced with shellac or the ordinary liquid filler.

How Stain is Applied.—If furniture or any kind of woodwork is to be artificially coloured, staining is the first of the finishing operations to be attended to. The stain should be spread upon well-cleaned surfaces by means of a brush, a cloth, or a sponge, and allowed to stand for a few minutes so that it may penetrate well into the wood. The surfaces should then be carefully wiped off with clean, soft cloths or cotton waste to remove any stain that may not have soaked into the wood, and thus prevent a streaked or painted effect. After the stained surface is thoroughly dry, a filler, coloured to match the stain, should be applied and rubbed well into the pores, as already explained in the section on natural finish. The beginner will need to be cautioned again and again not to rub the filler all off or draw it out of the grain, but to rub it in as much as possible. He will also need to be on his guard against the presence of moisture or grease, which will interfere with good results.

Excellent prepared stains in great variety may be easily obtained of dealers in painters' supplies. They will not always produce the effects claimed for them, but with a little experimenting it is possible to find prepared stains that will give almost any desired result. They are somewhat expensive, however, and the amateur finisher may prefer to develop his own stain. Following are some suggestions along this line:

Asphaltum and Golden Oak Stain.—A good chocolate brown stain may be produced on almost any light-coloured wood by a very thin varnish made by colouring turpentine with asphaltum and applying with a brush. A considerable quantity of asphaltum should be used, but not enough to make a sticky liquid. This will need to be finished with shellac or finishing varnish. When applied to quartered oak it produces the beautiful effect known as golden oak. It may also be used on white wood to give an imitation of black walnut; and Georgia pine under this stain takes on a very attractive tone without obscuring the natural figure of the wood.

Mahogany.—A clever imitation of mahogany may be made by staining birch of the right grain with logwood stain. The stain is made by boiling together equal parts of logwood chips and water for about three hours. While the mixture is hot, chloride of tin is added gradually until the right shade of colour is produced. The stain should be allowed to cool before it is applied, and then several coats may be needed to secure the right depth of shade. The filler used should be coloured with burnt umber and sienna. The finish may be a brilliant or a flat varnish, or wax.

Baywood as Mahogany.—Mahogany stain is also applied to baywood, resulting in what commonly passes for real mahogany. The genuine article, however, is an imported wood coming from South America, Mexico, and Africa in several varieties; and it is a much harder wood than the American baywood imitation. Both the birch and the baywood imitations of mahogany may be so well stained and finished that it is difficult to distinguish them from the imported varieties.

Flemish Oak.—The various oak stains are worthy of special mention. Flemish oak finish is very dark, almost black. It is prepared by first applying a stain made of bichromate of potash dissolved in water in the proportion of one half pound of bichromate to a gallon of water. The solution should be strained and applied with a stiff brush. After drying, the surface is well sand-papered and a coat of thin black stain is applied, made by dissolving japan drop-black in turpentine. This is allowed to stand a few minutes, then wiped off, and when the surface is thoroughly dry a coat of thin shellac is applied. After a thorough drying and hardening the surface is smoothed down with fine sand-paper and finished with wax.

Mission Oak.—The so-called mission oak finish may be in several colours, but as a rule it is of a dull gray with the flakes slightly reddish. The stain is made from drop-black in oil, tinged with a little rose pink, and thinned with japan and turpentine. The mixture should be strained through cheese cloth and applied with a staining brush. Wax finish is invariably used for mission oak.