Furniture, Wood and Cabinetry Finishing - Help with restaining

:why_this: :why_this:
I have applied the first stain application to a piece of furniture and I can see what looks almost like runs..... well I guess they are just that, runs. I have used some fine steel wool and it is working somewhat but there has to be an easier, faster way. I read somewhere that I could use like 240 grit sandpaper but I want to double check. If somebody could get back to me and let me know, that would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

djollie

Moved to wood finishing forum

If this is an oil stain use mineral spirits, if a water based stain use water to dampen a cloth and see if you can wipe off the runs. You should not have runs. Stain is to be applied, allowed to sit for a few minutes as the directions state, then wiped off. This allows for a relatively uniform application.

If this does not work, you may be able to remove some more of the runs with lacquer thinner. In some regards, this may ruin the stain job. It will depend upon your ability to remove the stain on the surface without causing streaking or smears in the stain with the removal process.

For the traditional stains, the sand paper may help somewhat after the stain has fully cured and sands away without rolling into balls. This will probably remove some of the wood, unless you are quite careful and use a fine paper such as 240 or finer. Using steel wool is fine for this, as it is a fine abrasive on the order of 240 or finer sandpaper. You would not use steel wool with water based products.

It may that you cannot filx the errant stain job and wind up having to strip it and start over.

Hope this helps.