suggestions on technique

[android]

I think the grit may have gotten me in trouble, i sanded all the way through the micromesh grits and then applied the stain.

just single color staining. and i used a q-tip to apply the stain.

[Frank]

I basically use Kurt's method for staining. I'm pretty sure it can apply to either single colour or contrast staining. Many pipemakers prefer to apply the stain with a regular pipe cleaner folded double and given a twist.

1. Sand to 220 grit
2. Stain
3. Sand 320 or 400 grit
4. Stain
5. Sand 500 grit
6. Stain
7. Buff off excess stain

I think that's more or less how it goes. Others are welcome to correct this.

[hazmat]

I've found that if you go much past 800 grit and/or buffing BEFORE you apply any stain, it has a hard time getting into the wood. I do as Frank listed above, have been for a number of years, and it works well for me.

One thing to keep in mind, this isn't staining like you stain a piece of furniture. The uneven thing you're talking about can be corrected a number of different ways. You certainly want to be careful about how you apply the stain around certain areas, but beyond that, you don't have to be all neatsy just to get the stain onto the stummel. I just wipe it on with rags.

Some things you can do to adjust your stain after you've applied it:

I keep a 50/50 mixture of isopropyl alcohol and water handy. After I apply the stain, it's a bit thick, so I dampen a rag with this and start wiping the stummel until I get the color I want.

Sand the stain back using a high grit. High grit will depend on how far up the chain you sand. It helps to use an already used piece of sandpaper for this.

Use 0000 steel wool as a means of backing off the stain a bit.

Buff the stain back as Frank suggests.

Play around with staining. It's fun. There's no way that one "must" stain, though there are a few hard and fast rules you should adhere to.

[android]

thank you fellas. one other question i have regarding staining. do you allow it to dry in place or do you try to wipe 'excess' off while it's still wet? this wouldn't allow much time, but that's what i've been trying to do. i suppose i should just let it dry in place?

[RadDavis]

Allow it all to dry, then wipe it with a alcohol soaked rag. It will even out nicely. If it doesn't even out, stain it again and wipe it again til it's even.

Rad

[hazmat]

thank you fellas. one other question i have regarding staining. do you allow it to dry in place or do you try to wipe 'excess' off while it's still wet? this wouldn't allow much time, but that's what i've been trying to do. i suppose i should just let it dry in place?

Everyone does something different. I light the thing on fire after I apply the stain. Some guys hit it with a heat gun. You really don't have to "let" it dry, so to speak. It dries almost immediately in my experience, as the alcohol that carries the pigment evaporates so quickly. I've never wiped stain off, even when I see the uneven lines. I just keep staining it until I get the coverage I want, then move on to adjusting the color from there.

[KurtHuhn]

As with all things where a craftsman is concerned, especially those that may be self-taught, there's about a hundred ways to do a given step in finishing.

It's important to remember that wood with a rough surface will absorb more stain, and do so more evenly, than wood with a smooth surface - to a point. Don't expect your stained 60 or 80 grit surface to yield an even color after you've sanded it smooth.

Also, repeated applications of stain can help even out the coloring. I apply stain after each grit over 220 until I get to 500. I take off a lot of stain, but the result is much better looking. This is also helpful for creating an easy contrast stain.

I usually let the stain dry completely between 220 and 360 - it's important to my methodology that the stain be allowed to soak in as far as it can and set as it was intended by the manufacturer. It's a much more deep and resilient stain when allowed to dry and cure. I lay it on thick, several coats if I need to, and allow it to sit overnight in the office. Lighting the stain on fire or heating the wood prior can help, but I don't use either technique. I just adjust my timing so that I'm applying stain as the last operation of the day.

If you want your top coat lighter than the rest, for contrast or whatever, you can wipe it off, but tha can muddy the stain. I tend to just use a much lighter stain for topcoat.

Basically, it's going to rely on you doing a *bunch* of experimentation. Even when you find something that works, keep experiementing with new ways - I make about a half dozen experiments a year, sometimes muchmore.

[hazmat]

Basically, it's going to rely on you doing a *bunch* of experimentation. Even when you find something that works, keep experiementing with new ways - I make about a half dozen experiments a year, sometimes muchmore.

This is how I figured out the few things I know about finishing. Save ALL the workable chunks of briar you lop off of a block. Buy some of the $3 blocks from Parks and work with those as test pieces. You can even take one of those guys and cut it into slices, then finish them using different techniques. Any pipe you mess up on is a possible experiment in SOME aspect of making a pipe so keep going unless it can't be smoked at all. Make it a learning process. I don't know how many briar slices, messed up drillings and otherwise compromised blocks I have laying around my shop that I've stained and finished a myriad of ways, but it's a bunch.

[android]

you guys are great. thanks again.

i think i'll try sanding this particular one down and try to re-apply a stain to it. i didn't expect my first go to end up spectacularly but just hope this will help down the road, as it already has. i'll give the old pipe cleaner a go as an applicator and see how that pans out as well.

thanks again for willing to help a brother out.

cheers.

i've contacted michael parks, and with the next paycheck, i will be ordering some of those cheap blocks to experiment with.