Avoiding the Dreaded Blotchiness

No, not a column on skin rashes, though I will warn you winter gardeners, landscapers and firewood handlers that seemingly dormant poison ivy vines can still envenomate you with their irritating oils….

This week's column has to do with wood stains and their effect on various woods.

A typical can of oil-based stain contains three main ingredients: dyes, pigments and mineral spirits. The mineral spirits delivers the dyes and pigments to the wood, and then evaporates, depositing its passengers into the empty pores of the wood. Some woods, most notably oak, accept the dyes and pigments happily.

Others, such as pine and fir, have a more erratic and unpredictable arrangement of pores. The larger drink in more than their fair share of stain, becoming gluttons, and in the process nearly obscuring the beauty of the wood grain, as they turn dark and blotchy.

This wanton disregard for self-restraint can be thwarted by an application of Wood Conditioner, a thin sealer that is brushed onto the wood and allowed to dry before the stain is applied. The Wood Condition serves as an appetizer before the main course of stain, filling the larger pores with just enough resins to reduce the amount of stain they will absorb.

The result is a board that absorbs a stain more evenly, resulting in a project that is far more attractive and far less blotchy than one to which no Wood Conditioner had been applied.

Years ago, when life was simpler, I used to advise people to apply Wood Conditioner to softwoods (pine, fir, cedar - trees with needles), but that it was not necessary on hardwoods, most notably oak (and trees with leaves rather than needles).

At that time oak was the most popular wood for furniture, floors and cabinets. But as oak became scarcer and thus more expensive, lumber mills turned to other hardwoods: alder, aspen, soft maple and poplar. Despite the fact that these are classified as hardwoods, they take a stain as unevenly as a classic softwood.

I have since changed my recommendation and now advise people to apply Wood Conditioner to any wood they are staining. It will even make oak take a stain more evenly.

So, before applying any stain, first brush on a coat of Wood Conditioner and you will see a remarkable difference. No more blotchiness!

Good Luck!

- Bruce

Top: Pine board stained without prior application of Wood Conditioner.

Lower: Same board, same stain, but first treated with Wood Conditioner.