Wood staining is a process that helps to add colour to wood. This is a lengthy and challenging procedure that involves a lot of intricate details. One of such is conditioning.
Let us learn whether we need to condition red oak before staining or not and the difference if we skip this process.
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Do We Need To Condition Red Oak Before Staining?
No, Red oak has fewer pores than any other softwood species, and even the quality of the red oak is very hard. Oak is one of the most renowned hardwoods, which is used on a large scale all around the world. So, even if you don’t use a wood conditioner, it will be okay for the red oak. But if you use the conditioner, it will make the wood’s quality stiffer compared to without conditioning red oak but it’s not necessary.
Testing Stains On Red Oak Wood
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In this video, Dave experiments with several different stains on Red Oak wood. He wanted to see the effects of different stains, some are good and others not, hope this helps somebody.
Why Should We Use Wood Conditioner Before The Staining Process?
You should always use a wood conditioner before staining softwood because the wood conditioning step is always known as pre-staining work. The main purpose of using a wood conditioner before staining is that it helps to reduce the patchiness which remains on those pieces of the wood.
The wood conditioning process is critical because the conditioners help stop the stain from getting directly in touch with the wood creating an even color.
The conditioners are the combined mixtures of thinners and varnishes. The ratio of the thinner and varnish is 2:1. The volume of the conditioner should be thin enough to get easily clean with the help of a piece of cloth, but even it should be thick enough so that it can quickly get hold by a paintbrush without having an issue. And the varnish should be very thick, and then only it can save our wood from stains.
What Will Happen If We Do Not Use The Conditioner And Directly Start The Staining Process?
The thinner present in the conditioner helps fill up all the pores in the wood, and the varnish helps make the upper part of the wood smooth. But if you do not use wood as a conditioner, the pores of the wood will be open, which will cause a lot of difficulties during the painting of the wood, and even the wood will be porous too as the varnish is also not present on the top layer of the wood.
The next thing is, without conditioner, the stain can directly contact the wood, damaging the wood very quickly. And it will not even take more than some years to erode the wood as well as create blotchy stain spots.
We hope you got some idea about red oak and the need to condition it before staining. Every procedure involved is essential in maintaining the quality of the wood.
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