Staining Fail

Stain problem

Saturday a load of lumber was purchased from the lumber yard, and trip was made to the hardware store for supplies. Sunday was spent cutting, gluing, screwing, sanding and culminated with applying the first coat of stain on our current project. I let the stain soak in, then wiped it off.
This is what I saw:

Stain problem
UGH! Whats that?!

(Insert four letter expletive here)

What happened? No idea. Very clearly something was wiped on the wood that has left this mark. Best guess was that I used a rag to wipe off the wood before staining. I am guessing that there was something on the rag, that left residue on the wood, and mucked up my stain.

Obviously this can’t stay this way. So what’s next? Spend another several hours sanding and hopefully remove the swipe mark. Then re-stain and cross my fingers.

The moral of this story? It’s not always easy, things go wrong, we screw up, make mistakes. We’re human. I just happened to do it on $100 worth of 2″ thick, kiln dried lumber.

Stain screwup
Thats gonna be a whole lot of sanding…

What’s the biggest DIY screw up you’ve made? Wreck any projects lately? Were you able to fix it, or did you need to start over?

Author: Kristen

Kristen & her husband El Granto & their Vizsla Odin live in a converted Storefront in downtown Toronto.

3 thoughts on “Staining Fail”

  1. I don’t know if you’ve ever tried this, and I know it reacts differently on different or new woods, but Citristrip will suck stain right out of wood.

    I’ve been stripping antique, 5- and 6- panel doors for my home. One thick coat of Citristrip (with plastic bags pressed into it to hold it against the wood) left overnight will take most paint off in sheets. A 2nd coat will suck the stain right out of at least these doors like BBQ sauce. I sluice it off and neutralize with water and a scrubbie. The only sanding once completely dry is a 200 grit to smooth.

    I let my doors dry on their side so moisture follows gravity and overnight it’s perfect. No mineral spirits because it’ll reliquify the sta

    1. in right back into the wood. Use water.
      Of course, again, this is dependent upon the existing layers’ make-up!

      My whole point here is that if you mess up with stain, there’s a good chance you can fix it with a layer of Citristrip. I work with this stuff in my MBR, in front of the TV, in my pajamas. No space suit, no flesh-eating chemicals, and a quick fix.

      Love your work! I’m now Bloglovin’ you! 😉

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