I am so excited for this tutorial as we love solid wood furniture and love preserving the beautiful grain in wood.
SamaN water based stains are like no other stain you have ever used! SamaN Water-Based Stains are highly pigmented, inter-mixble, eco friendly, non toxic, odorless, fast drying, does not raise the grain or no need conditioners and my favorite part is that it only needs one coat and it won't leave lapping marks!
Before we get started I would like to show you a couple pieces we have done for our clients using SamaN Water Base Stains....
Here's a solid fir desk top we built for a client and stained with SamaN Turquoise and Ray is working on the resin coat.
Here's our clients nesting tables we refinished and colour matched for her using 1:1 ratio Mahogany and Dark Walnut.
Here's a solid fir counter top we built and stained with SamaN White Wash.
Now time to get started!
Step #1
Find your project and take a before photo!
Here's a solid Birch dresser I am going to stain the drawers in SamaN Dark Walnut and the base will be painted in Fresh Air and will be updating the hardware.
Step #2
Choose your SamaN Stain...
OR custom mix your own colour!
HOT TIP: If your going to create your own custom stain colour the SamaN Graduated Kit is a MUST! You can mix a colour without any wastage and mess!
Step #3
Time to prep your project .... if you're piece has a finish ie painted or stained surface you must remove the finish when using SamaN's water based stains. To remove the finish we recommend using Dad's Easy Stray Stripper.
HOT TIP: Always make sure when stripping furniture to take the proper safety per cautions... ALSO if the piece has a painted finish and is 1978 or older there is a good possibility I may contain Lead. Make sure to Lead Test before you start.
To prep the surface I used Lacquer Thinner, a couple steel wool pads and my stripping gloves.
I was very lucky as this piece was previous finished using a lacquer so using lacquer thinner I was able to remove the finish without having to use stripper to expose the raw wood.
Make sure to wipe off the residue with a clean rag.
Here's the drawers stripped using lacquer thinner.
Now its time to give the drawers a very light sand with my finishing sander. I used 120 grit sand paper then used 240 grit.
As you can see the light sanding smoothed the surface and its now prepped and ready to be cleaned!
I used 15ml TSP ECO concentrate in a half full bucket of water and my 300 Brillo pad to remove the dust from sanding and any left over residue.
Here's the drawers cleaned.
Once the drawers are dry I took my Tack Cloth and removed all dust that was embedded in the drawers that I missed when washing.
Step #4
Staining... The fun part!!!
I used my staining sponge from SamaN's Basic Staining Kit and massaged the stain into the surface in circular motion working the stain into the grain.
Once the piece is fully stained I took the cloth from the Saman Basic Staining Kit and wiped the access off making sure to follow the grain.
Here's the drawers all stained.
What I love most about this product is I stopped many times while applying the stain to take photos and to talk customers and I was able to continue staining the rest of the drawers and it didn't leave lapping marks!
Step #5
Time to seal your project!
For detailed directions on how to seal your project click here.
Step #6
Enjoy and show off your masterpiece!
I sealed the dresser using Superior Paint Co. Semi-Gloss Top Coat (3 Coats) and sanded between each coat using the 600 Grit Sanding Pad for a buttery smooth finish.
HOT TIPS:
- Always test your stain on a scrap piece of wood in same type of wood to ensure your colour is what your looking for as every wood takes stain differently.
- If you are new to SamaN products make sure to practice applying the stain before your start applying it to ensure you get a feel for the product.
- If you don't like the colour not to worry as you can apply another colour over top without having to strip the other colour off.
- If you wanna have a rustic finish use a sanding block to distress to expose the raw wood.
Things You'll Need:
- You're project
- Drop Cloth
- Dad's Easy Spray Stripper
- Lead Test Kit
- Lacquer Thinner (Available at Superior Interiors Kelowna)
- Steel Wool
- Stripping gloves
- 120 & 240 Grit Sandpaper
- TSP ECO
- 300 Grit Brillo Pad
- Tack Cloth
- SamaN Water Based Stain
- Staining Kit
- Graduated Staining Kit
- 600 Grit Sanding Pad
- Top Coat
***All products listed are available to purchase at Superior Interiors Kelowna***
I hope I have inspired you to renew your solid wood furniture. Please take the extra steps for a professional finish. I do not ever recommended just sanding a finish off like you will see people doing this online because your sanding off the profile of your furniture and if you sand off your furniture you can risk damaging the the wood or veneer. Please preserve the wood and take the proper steps so when your furniture needs updating or refinishing you have preserved the wood and have something to work with.
Happy staining and refinishing everyone!!!
Re-New Re-Use Re-Love!
P.S.
I love seeing your transformations... Wanna make my day??? Send me your before and afters using Superior products!