The ONLY reason to use a stain is if you want to see more of the wood texture (be it solid or transparent stain) at the cost of film longevity. Wood stain vs paint: Wood stains, on the contrary, allow for the grain patterns on the wooden surface to be visible and enhanced on application. Painting allows you to transform your furniture into any color you wish. We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. The oils found in stain also help keep the wood flexible. Both have their own advantages and disadvantages. With a matte finish you get the protection of a clear topcoat and get the look of a naturally stained wood. As you can see, in the maintenance of stain vs. paint, stain also has the upper hand. Expansion and contraction can cause cracks to form on your furniture. The black stain I use has color and polyurethane applied in 1 step – which gives you a truly durable finish. Refinishing Furniture is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Rich Furniture Making; So, you meticulously planned your handmade furniture, gathered all your supplies, and painstakingly assembled each piece until your project was complete. Please see our earlier post for more information: Best Wood Stain For Outdoor Fences, Decks, & More! It also only usually needs one coat. Stir the Stain . Oil-based paint, also sometimes called alkyd paint, is a durable type of paint for furniture. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Cut the larger towel down into small 6-inch squares. One advantage of stain over paint is that even after applying stain, the knots and pattern of the wood can still be seen. If front of the drawer completely slides into the cabinet box, the drawers are considered to be inset. Smiles! Unfinished furniture: staining vs. painting? No choice in sheens–only comes in flat. Pine is just one such type of inexpensive wood that can be enhanced in appearance and lifespan with the right treatment. Since stain penetrates deep into the wood and won’t scrape off as easily, stain is less likely to show the wear and tear as the drawers slide in and out of the cabinet box. There really is no battle between paint vs. stain. EntriWays.com, Have you tried Cloud Cover on both your walls and, Time to was the imitation greenery https://entriw, 8 weeks after starting the process it was time to, Time to start washing the Thanksgiving dishes. Like paints, they help block UV rays and are resistant to moisture. Apply the clear, matte topcoat with a brush. Search. Once you have stained a piece of furniture, you can not paint over it without significant effort to remove the stain … Copyright © 2021 Entri Ways • Beloved Theme — Privacy Policy. The disadvantages of stain vs paint are: Fewer color choices. Stain wears away gradually for periodic re-coating. Required fields are marked *. Paint is easy to change. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Would you like to receive access to my FREE eBooks including my favorite "Ways to Find Furniture to Refinish"? Linseed oil or alkyd is commonly used as binder in transparent stains. It won’t look thick or heavy on your furniture the way paint sometimes does. In fact, you feel rather crappy after that kind of criticism. We’re even seeing a wave of green kitchen cabinets. If you want to see grains and knots in plain sight, you probably shouldn’t go with painted cabinets. It is easier to apply stain, as well as to re-coat surfaces that need a touch up. Painted Furniture Top Coats and Sealers; Painting Laminate Furniture and Cabinets; Whitewash furniture finishes; Wood Stains and Furniture Stains; Wood Wax and Furniture Wax ; How-To Paint Tutorials; Crafts. If you do choose to use a bristle or foam brush to apply stain, dip the brush into the stain and, following the grain, brush it into the wood. Paint is liable … Maintaining RH between 40% and 55% is the best RH environment for all furniture and wood elements in the home. Easier cleanup – no brushes, rollers, buckets or paint trays to wash. For a quick facelift on a chair, bench, … Stains work best on weathered, rough, and coarse wood and can be used for decks, wood roof shingles, gazebos, and fences. I’ve found that white or light colored baby bath towels or terry cloth towels work best for staining wood. We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website. Stain is quicker to apply than paint, because you don’t always need to prime surfaces first. The oils found in stain also help keep the wood flexible. The Curators Collection offers so much great inspiration! While solid wood is better, veneers are also wood and can be stained. Choosing to use a bristle brush, a foam brush or a rag is a matter of choice. Batching of stain is more crucial. Then after a few minutes, wipe off any excess stain. http://thecuratorscollection.wordpress.com 2. Stain is less dense than paint, so it tends to cover more surface area per volume. Both stain and paint will work well here since the drawer fronts won’t be scraping against other parts of the dresser. I have a covered porch on back it faces North and exposed to East and West . This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again. Find this denim blue sideboard in our online shop. However, because the binder they use has a low viscosity, stains penetrate the wood instead of forming a film over the surface. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. On the other hand, paint stays on the surface and creates a thin film. /* Add your own MailChimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block. Paint peeling requires extensive scraping. Plus when the light hits the wood, there’s no sheen so you don’t see imperfections. Paint Vs. Stain for Handmade Furniture. Your email address will not be published. Stain Vs Glaze? What’s The Trend In Kitchen Cabinetry, Painted vs Stained Cabinets. San Diego Furniture Resources. Oct 13, 2015 - Check out the difference between black stain vs black paint when you want to make over a piece of furniture. Be careful not to work the the liquid too much. I have a deck on front porch stained it with Cabot a good stain. #mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; } Some need to be reapplied regularly. The thought process behind the decision to use stain or paint on a thrifted furniture piece is a  careful one though. Black stain vs black paint on furniture – what I like about it: 1. Three Great Projects to Add Some Fun to a Child’s Room. However, there are many differences between paint vs. stain, from their appearance to their ability to protect the wood. If only the drawer box slides into the cabinet box but the drawer fronts lay outside the cabinet box, the drawers are said to have an overlay. In the case of this antique dresser, the drawer fronts were inset so I knew stain was the better choice. How the drawers are designed has a big impact on my decision to use paint or stain. Applying it on wooden furniture will completely hide the wood’s grain. Many think paint and stain have the same characteristics because Both protect and add color to your furniture. Learn how your comment data is processed. However, there are many differences between paint vs. stain, from their appearance to their ability to protect the wood. I prefer to use a clear, matte water-based topcoat. Prior to making that decision, you need to take into account whether the furniture piece is the same wood throughout, does it have existing damage, does it have detailed carvings, and how the drawers are designed. Solvents are the ingredients that allow the paint to spread on the surface evenly. I chose an Expresso stain but then added a few drops of black stain. Paints that are oil-based also become brittle as time passes by. Gray cabinets have been growing in popularity. This will also depend on the original color and the new color you’d like to achieve. Staining and painting both offer there own pros and cons. Basically desks, filing cabinets, drawers and large storage cabinets that will line 2 walls of the room. Paint can expand and contract as well, but at a different rate. However, both options accomplish this task with differing levels of success and cost. Pour about a half inch of stain into a paint tray or shallow pan. And some work like a dream. Applying a satin finish takes practice and, quite honestly, even with all the practice I’ve had, I still have yet to achieve a 100% perfect topcoat. Cons. They fill in the pores and grooves on the wood thereby taking in the shape of the stained material. Now, for the hard part: deciding whether you want to paint or stain your DIY furniture. It is therefore not advisable to use paint on wooden structures. We purchased a lot of unfinished wood furniture for our home office. Step 2 Wash the sanded surface using a trisodium phosphate cleanser.  =  Paint is a resistant, film-forming finish that has been around for quite a while. In essence, paint and stain serve the same purpose, that is, to coat your wood deck or furniture with a coating that prevents said wood from succumbing to moisture infiltration. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings. Find out which is better for the grade or type of wood like oak, cedar and mahogany. Painting coats the top of wood while stain penetrates the wood. Stain is always thinner than paint and when stain is applied on a surface, it tends to soak into the surface. When you stain, the wood absorbs the stain, and that has a profound impact on how much color gets taken in and where it lodges, but with glaze, you have almost complete control over where the color goes and how much stays on. Long curing times. Like paints, they help block UV rays and are resistant to moisture. Choosing a furniture piece that’s not only wood but the same wood throughout is the most important factor if you’re planning to use stain. And I love your blog too. Stain runs between $20 and $35 per gallon, while exterior paint suitable for decking ranges from $30 to as much as $60 per gallon. Paint is thicker than stain, so it doesn’t get absorbed by wood the way stain does. Learn the top 5 things every homeowner should ask themselves when deciding which option is the best. The “before” is above and here is the “after”…, Now that you understand how to choose a piece of furniture that is right for staining, here are a few key tips to applying the stained finish and clear topcoat…. Instead, they just fade and lose the ability to resist water. Then, stir the stain with a paint stick until it's completely mixed. OIL STAIN vs. LATEX STAIN Most paint manufacturers offer stains in both latex and oil. No problem on back porch. Rich color. When painting bare wood, prime it first with a good, … Adding or removing solvents can adjust the viscosity of the paint, which makes the paint either thicker or thinner. Continue reading The Differences Between Paint And Stain → Furniture . Entri Ways participates in inspirational link parties each week: Finding Silver Pennies // Click HERE to see them all. However, if a dresser started off as a dark stain, and especially if it had a lot of red undertones, your best bet is to choose a dark stain to refinish it. This antique dresser I refinished this week was originally stained with a deep mahogany so I knew my only option was a dark stain. It does take time to cure – a few days to a week or more depending on the humidity level before the finish is super … Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), « 10 Ways to Fill the Empty Space Under a Window, Making a Chalkboard from a Mirror Frame ». Sandpaper helps add texture to smooth, varnished surfaces for easier painting. To remedy this, sand, scrape, or strip the loose paint before adding a fresh coat. If you are using chalk paint on wood furniture that is stained, I would sand to make the surface more porous so the paint adheres. Follow along to learn how to refinish wood furniture. Wood is a porous material that naturally expands and contracts. Though you’ll still see the grain imprints in woods like oak and hickory, they’ll mostly be hidden behind whichever coat of paint you choose. display: none !important; How the drawers are designed has a big impact on my decision to use paint or stain. This finish protects your wood by sealing out moisture and blocking UV rays. A highly absorbent surface may require more stain than you planned on. However, stained surfaces actually have shorter lives than painted surfaces. The problem is that with a satin, any areas you may have missed show up when the light shines on them. 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And you ’ d like to tone down that sheen you could choose a satin, any you!, oil-based polyurethane obvious reasons paint usually lasts for five to fifteen years deteriorating... And mix the stain with a brush such type of furniture than the other choosing! Usually need a touch up a clear topcoat and get the look of clear... This block stain vs paint furniture the preceding CSS link to the air-tight film that paints form on surfaces... Become brittle as time passes by dip a small corner into the grain, rub it into the.... Of wood like oak, cedar and mahogany be able stain vs paint furniture save your preferences terry!