Question about staining

[sshawl]

Hi everyone,

Sorry if this has already been discussed and I missed it.

When using a liquid alcohol stain, like Fiebing, do you use it straight from the bottle or thin it down?

I imagine there are different techniques for applying but is there a typical method of application? i.e. do you finish sand to a certain grit, apply the stain, sand again, spit coat with shellac and then buff?

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

Steve Shawl

[LexKY_Pipe]

The method you suggest is pretty normal and basic. You can cut the stains with denatured alcohol if you want to lighten the color. Sealing with shellac is also a good way to set the stain.

[Frank]

If you're only making the occasional pipe, then cutting stain with alcohol is the less expesive way to go to get a lighter shade. If you'll be using quite a bit of stain, get a whole range of brown/tan stains.

If you intend to do contrast staining, I suggest you search the forum, there are a number of excellent threads on what grit to sand to, etc.