Stains and varnishes
Paint covering wooden products usually requires covering with a preservative or surface protecting agent. The quality of the raw wood surface affects the choice of agent. For example, painting with opaque paint will cover minor imperfections, on the other hand, the stains will be enhanced with a colorless agent.
Before painting, the wood should be clean, dry and smooth.
All wood products change its shade a little. Wood such as mahogany or walnut becomes darker when a clear coat is applied. We'll find out, what color will we achieve after varnishing, soaking a small piece of wood with water. If the resulting color is too light, you can stain the wood first.
Bejce
Stains are only used to change the color or shade of the wood. They are available in wood-like or other colors. The wood, painted with stain, retains the visible grain pattern.
You can only stain a darker color.
To lighten the wood, special bleach or lime paint should be used. Because the stain penetrates deeply into the wood, its removal is extremely difficult. So let's check in advance on a piece of wood, does the effect suit us? If the wood has a perceptible touch, uneven grains, and we want a smooth surface, use a grain filler and rub it along the length of the wood, Good to remember, that putty does not stain as well as wood.
After staining, the wood can be varnished.
Each subsequent layer of varnish will darken them a bit, and if we apply it unevenly, it will be darker there, where the varnish layer is thicker.
Varnishes
They can be water-borne or solvent-borne; they make transparent, hard, glossy or semi-matte coating. Polyurethane varnishes create the effect of covering the wood with transparent plastic.
Wood oils
They are slightly easier to apply than varnishes.
Two layers of oil must be applied to the wood (we can do it with a brush or a slightly rough tampon), wiping off its excess with a clean cloth. Oils give shine and make, that the wood becomes waterproof. Some oils can change the color or shade of the wood
Waxes
Waxing is also an interesting way to finish raw wood. Some waxes gently color, softening the effect of "novelty" and slightly aging the surface. To get this effect, colorless wax should be used.
Before waxing, rub the wood with fine steel wool. If we apply wax with a flannel, the effect is naturally satin. For more shine – after drying the wax, polish it vigorously with a rough cloth or a clean one, with a soft shoe brush.