Staining has the extra step of removing the excess stain before it dries. You want to make sure that you remove any excess before it dries. If excess is allowed to dry on top of the wood, it leaves a glossy sheen on the wood that doesn't match the rest of the wood. This can give your wood a blotchy look.
Blotch Prevention
Some woods, such as oak and walnut, absorb liquid stain evenly. On pine, cherry, maple, poplar, and birch, however, spongy areas soak up more liquid—and more color—than dense areas. Any blotch-prevention program starts with evenly sanding to 180 grit on face grain, and to 220 grit on end grain.
If the stain appears to be blotchy after the water popping method, a complete resand is needed. Floor sealers or finish applied stain that is not fully dry may cause the color to bleed. Wet stains can move around and accumulate in different areas of the wood floor.
If the color is then not even, or it's too light, you'll need to apply more stain. Switch to a slower drying stain, work on smaller sections at a time, or apply and wipe off the stain faster by using a cloth or spray gun to apply the stain and a large dry cotton cloth to remove the excess stain.
Depending on the type of stain you are using, most stains are dry and cured within 24 hours to 48 hours. After that time, it's safe for additional coats or to apply polyurethane or the sealer of your choice.
Uneven Stain Coloring - Too Light
If you find that some areas of the wood stain are lighter than the target color you have in your head, you can apply additional stain to those areas. Use a piece of cloth or rag to apply another coat of the same stain to the wood in the area that is too light.
Stains lighten as they dry, then return to their damp color when a finish is applied. So the quick method of seeing the color you'll get with the finish applied is to look at the stain while it is still damp. If you're using a satin or flat finish, however, you need to factor in the impact of the flatting agent.
Why does this happen? Depending on the type of wood you're staining, the color of the stain can change. You have to take into account the hardness and undertones of the wood you're using. Both of these things affect the stain color.
If you're fine with darkening your project, you can fix a blotchy stain job by darkening the piece and blending the blotches! There are two ways to do this: with normal oil-based wood stain, or with gel stain.
With staining, you'll know if you've over-applied your deck stain because there will be sticky patches or puddles that just aren't drying—the wood has absorbed all it can, so the remaining stain has nowhere to go.
Using most gel stains, you can darken wood furniture, or stay the same color, without sanding off the old stain. But, I usually use General Finishes Gel Stain because the finish always looks beautiful. Don't forget to Save or Share these steps for how to stain wood without sanding.
The new stain you are applying over the old stain should be compatible. For instance, if it's an oil-based stain, apply another oil-based stain. If it's a water-based stain, apply another water-based stain. Incompatible stains can lead to poor adhesion or blotchy and uneven finish.
The best way to get a smooth finish is to apply the first coat of sealer, let it dry, and then lightly sand the surface with 220-grit sandpaper before applying a second coat. 6. Clean up. Water-based stains should wash out of rags and drop cloths with warm water and soap.
Apply a second coat of stain after the first has dried fully. This will usually produce a darker coloring, but it adds a step to the process and slows production. Substitute a glaze or gel stain for the liquid stain. Glazes and gel stains usually contain a higher ratio of pigment.
Blotchy stain often occurs because wood unevenly absorbs stain, causing some areas to be darker than others. Blotchy stain is more likely to happen on soft woods such as pine. Stain rarely turns out blotchy on hard wood like oak.
We always recommend two coats of stain for any wood project, but you should only apply as much stain as the wood can absorb. Extremely dense hardwoods may only be able to absorb one coat of wood stain. The general rule of thumb is to apply only as much deck stain as the wood can absorb.
You should also consider the type of wood you are staining, amount of stain you're applying, and weather conditions, like humidity, temperature, and air circulation. On average, wood stain takes about 24 to 72 hours to fully dry and cure, though you can typically add a second coat after about four hours.
Applying two coats of stain to your hardwood floors will result in darker tones; however, this may be necessary to obtain the stain tones you wish for.
Staining these types of woods can result in areas of beading where the stain is repelled, making for a messy look. Tendency for “bleedback” – Unlike paint, stain cannot be corrected or darkened by applying more layers. No matter what type of wood you choose, it can only absorb a certain amount of stain.
If you leave it on for too long, the chemicals in the stain can start to break down the surface of the wood, causing it to flake off or peel. Sometimes, the excess stain may redissolve, giving you undesirable results.
If a second coat is applied, it builds the thickness and two things happen. First, the sealer or top coat cannot penetrate through the stain to grab the wood fiber. This causes the second issue, the bond now relies on the strength of the stain to bond the surface coats to the wood.