What kind of preparation needs to be done before applying an oil-based stain to a pine floor, other than sanding down to bare wood and using wood filler where needed? How long would the time interval need to be between the stain application and the first coat of polyurethane? Thanks.
RL
Pine stains best with a sealer or spit coat of shellac on it. That wood filler is probably going to stand out too once stained. you may want to try it on a pine board first to be sure it won't look like crap.
Once stained, wait about 24 hours for the first coat of oil based poly.
What is a spit coat? What kind of sealer are you referring to other than the polyurethane? Thanks.
RL
spit coat or piss coat; a quick covering not meant to be a "top coat"
sealer, not sure. but, you can find cans with this label everywhere.
Bix pre stain is probably shellac base. making your own is cheaper. Pre stain it or it will look like crap. Pine does not stain well. Remember pine darkens alot on its own over time and oil poly darkens over time. Water base poly darkens little. Do tests on scrap and plan on a shade darker in a year. Even no stain and water base poly will be 1-2 shades darker in a few years. Oil poly yellows, water base does not.
Anybody know how to search on groups.google.com? Saves lots of bandwidth.
(sanding) sealer, spit-coat, and such are intended to partially reduce the permeability of the wood surface to stains, and to make it more consistent. Besides raising and holding in place the disturbed fibers, so they can be simply scraped or sanded off.
Again, google is your friend.
J
Minwax, as well as most others, recommend a pre-stain on soft wood before applying the stain. Essentially, it is mineral spirits. Keeps the stain from getting blotchy. You can just paint on some mineral spirits, then stain.
Spit coat is a thin coat of shellac to do the same thing.
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