How To Clean Exterior Wood Before Staining: Step By Step Process Of Cleaning Exterior Wood


Step By Step Process Of Cleaning Exterior Wood Before Staining

Prep is one of the most essential parts when you are looking to stain a wooden surface. If your preparation is not diligent and effective, then it is highly possible that your refinished product is up against obstacles including dust, wax, existing stain, or deformities in the wood surface. Therefore, it is extremely important that your wood surface is clean before you move on to staining your wood.

Step 1: Strip Paint Layers

If your wood surface is having any paint residue & you want to stain it, then you need to use a paint stripping agent in order to loosen paint on the wood. It will soak in as well as a bubble & you will hold out against all temptation to scratch at it as long as it is fully ready to be removed, before using a paint scraper to peel it away from the wood surface. Wipe & clean the area with the help of a clean cloth. If still there is a small amount of paint remaining, then don't worry it will, in all probability, come off when you sand the area. Getting rid of paint from a hardwood surface is a satisfying experience, however, it is also essential due to the reason that you can’t stain the wood if there are any bits of paint covering the grain.

Step 2: Use Wax Removers

Wax is used on the majority of the wood surfaces, generally as a furniture polish, or a heavier duty floor wax. Formal “wax removers” or “polish removers” can be used to get rid of the wax, however, you can also opt to use mineral spirits when it comes to loosening wax. After you apply mineral spirits, entirely dependent on the condition of the wax, you may be able to remove it by wiping it away using a clean, dry cloth. You can also use an agitating scrubber but be extra cautious, due to the reason that it could damage the underlying wood grain. Elbow grease with the help of a cotton rag is safer as well as more effective when it comes to getting rid of wax layers from wood.

Step 3: Sand The Surface

  • Power Sanding: With the help of a palm sander or a random orbital sander, you can quickly strip away imperfections as well as preceding layers of stain in order to reveal the underlying natural wood. Work expeditiously & productively by starting using coarse sandpaper in the 60-100 grit range and slowly switch to finer sandpapers rated closer to 150 grit.
  • Sanding By Hand: Sanding a wood surface using your hand is another option. If your wood surface doesn’t need the force of an electric tool, then you can use several degrees of coarse sandpaper when it comes to getting rid of stubborn spots and existing stains. After that, proceed towards fine sandpapers to counterbalance & level the wood surface so that it is taken back to its fully raw, natural wood state. When refinishing a fine wood piece, use fine-grit sandpapers (200+ grit) and flattening out any rough edges to the wood so that it feels as well as looks uniform. Finishing using very fine sandpaper by hand is perfect regardless of using a sanding machine or prepped the wood by hand.

Step 4: Tack On

Finally, before you stain, using tack cloths is one of the best options in order to clean the dust off the prepped wood surface completely. Tack cloth is a filter-like piece of fabric that is coated in a layer of sticky adhesive. The “tacky” finish of the cloth is used when you are looking to capture every final bit of dust that might stay on the surface of your wooden piece. It is an essential last step to the sanding as well as preparation process, which can leave the dust in random nooks and crannies of the wood easily. Getting rid of scattered pieces of rubbish or remains will help in even stain saturation, which in turn results in a flawless stained finish. Now, your exterior wood surface is ready to add stain.
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