Well, I've been sanding and prepping the railings for a month now. AND, I am admitting defeat. Not total defeat, but defeat to what my original intention was. Not sure if you remember, but I had wanted a combination of a dark walnut stain and white. I knew it was a HUGE undertaking and it was (and still is!). I was prepared for the amount of work I needed to do, I knew I had to get every ounce of finish off for it to take the stain....and I did. (In fact, my fingers got very raw and cracked from all the sanding). Unfortunately no amount of work and preparation could control how the wood would take the stain. I had finally reached the point that I thought I was ready to stain. My excitement was quickly deflated by what I saw. I hated it. I even tried a lighter stain. It wasn't the stain, it was the wood. I'm not sure if you can tell or not in the photo, but the wood took the stain very inconsistently. Weird wood flaws and marks were coming through. Not at all what I had invisioned. Yea, I was pretty disappointed...especially after all that work, but all is not lost. I will be painting it all white. I am pretty excited. I think it will give me the "crisp, light and bright" look that I want. Either way, I know I will like it better than what it was before...I think it will be more me. I will post when I wake up from the paint fumes!
10 comments:
Oh wow Julie! That is a ton of work. I need to do the same thing to mine. However, rather than grabbing my good ole' sander, I continue to look at my cupboards and railing.... and plan my course of action. :) You are a good sport to take it in stride. Can't wait to see the final product. Perhaps your energy and creativity can seep through the blog and land at my house. :)
Oh sorry about the stain/wood problems! It will look great white! You are a hard worker!
aaaaahhhhh.......I should have known...I was wondering why I hadn't heard from you the last couple of days....I will arrive shortly with a Coke in hand....
Extra lemon right? ;)
Everything you do always turns out so I'm excited to see the end result! love you,
Oh bummer...you have more ambition than most of us! It will turn out great in the end!
Man - I hate that - there is a huge difference between paint-grade and stain-grade wood - and the builders cut corners where ever they can! It will be gorgeous all white. And that much quicker to finish. If nothing else, you have the wood down to bare and it should take the paint famously! Can't wait to see it my next time through! If only I was there to help!
~ S
Bummer. I bet looks great though. I'm a big fan of white. It's clean and contemporary.
oh jules---dang i feel for you--how is it going now? Dang--i want to see the finished product!
Love you,!
ang
Wow cuz - lots of work
You might try to use a stain conditioner first. This is another step, but its like primer for a car, it soaks into the wood, and lets the wood absorb the stain more evenly.
Also you could try a stain with a more solids content, that blocks the wood grain.
A darker stain might also work better.
You have put in so much work don't give up now!
Hope to see you at the wedding.
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