Staining

The Achilles' Heel of Luthiery
Ken C

Re: Staining

Post by Ken C »

Despite my comments above about moistening a cloth with water and swabbing the sides, back, or neck prior to staining, I agree with Ken on keeping water away from that spruce top. No need to raise the grain there at all. Even with the backs and sides, introducing a lot of water can result in cupping and warping. If you are not using water based stains, no need to even get water near the back and sides.

Ken
Tony_in_NYC
Posts: 827
Joined: Thu Aug 12, 2010 9:11 pm

Re: Staining

Post by Tony_in_NYC »

I never understood wetting the wood to raise the grain. Can anyone please explain the logic to that?
Ben-Had
Posts: 1405
Joined: Fri Sep 03, 2010 2:14 pm
Location: Creedmoor, NC

Re: Staining

Post by Ben-Had »

kencierp wrote: one spritz to stack the grain might accomplish a little something.
It's a spritz and dry with blow dryer to stack the grain and smooth the wood. Just the way I was taught by a long time, well respected luthier. It gets the wood very smooth and I have had no problems with this method. But like I said, it was the way I was instructed and I'm open to new methods.

Thanks for the input.

Tim B
Tim Benware
Ken C

Re: Staining

Post by Ken C »

Moisture causes wood to swell and fibers to stand up. Take a piece of mahogany or spruce, sand it to 400G, then moisten a cloth with water, wring most of the water out, and wipe the surface. Let it dry, then run your hand over the surface. You will feel fibers standing up and the wood will feel like you didn't sand beyond 220G. Waterbased lacquers and stains will also cause the grain to behave the same way. When spraying water based lacquer, I shoot the first coat extremely light, so I don't soak the wood. Once sealed, I can spray heavier coats. If using a water based stain, the stain will raise the grain, and the surface can't be sanded back down so its smooth without removing stain. I 'pre treat' the wood, so when I apply the stain, the grain fibers stay put and the surface stays smooth.

Ken
tippie53
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Joined: Fri Mar 03, 2006 7:09 pm
Location: Hegins, Pa
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Re: Staining

Post by tippie53 »

It is a common practice to wet wood to raise the "grain" before finishing. A light wipe with a wet paper towel is all you need. This does help with the finish sanding and getting a quality finish. I agree too much water can cause some serious trouble but just a slight dampening will get that loose "feather" grain up so you can cut that down.
You don't need to do this more than once. If you don't thinned finish can pull the feathers up and cause a little fuzzies when you start layout finish. When it comes down to it , finishing is the most technical part of building. There are many techniques for finishing and find the one that works the best for you. Finishing is all about prep .
John Hall
Blues Creek Guitars Inc
Authorized CF Martin Repair Center
president of Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
http://www.bluescreekguitars.com
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