STAINING

_Object of Staining._--Up to this point the processes of finishing

considered have assumed that the wood treated is to retain its natural

colour, excepting that it may darken with age. But it is often

desirable to give artificial colours to woodwork--_i. e._, to dye or

stain it. This is done for a variety of purposes--to reduce to one tone

the different shades of the natural colour often found in the same kind

of wood, to bring out the natural beauty of the grain and texture, to

give an entirely new colour to the cheaper kinds of wood in imitation

of the more expensive kinds, and to produce tones that will harmonize

with various colour schemes. To accomplish this great variety of

results, scores of different kind of wood dyes or stains have been put

upon the market in almost countless shades and tints, but they are all

easily classified under three heads. They are oil stains, water stains,

or alcohol stains.

_A Perfect Stain._--A perfect stain, if it could be obtained, would

be a clear, limpid liquid, free from all solid particles or specks of

colouring matter that might clog the pores of the wood and interfere

with the absorption of the filler--so clear and transparent that it

would in no way obscure the grain of the wood, which in many varieties

is the chief element of beauty--so limpid that it would easily soak

deep into the pores of the wood, carrying to a considerable depth below

the surface an artificial colour which will not fade on exposure.

_Water, Alcohol, and Oil Stains Compared._--The water and alcohol

stains on the whole meet these requirements better than the oil stains

do. They are clear, and without body, and they have great penetration.

But they are not free from faults. Many of the water stains are made

from aniline dyes which are not durable. The alcohol stains, however,

are generally permanent. Both the water stains and the alcohol stains

raise the grain of the wood and are liable to show darker in corners

and on end grains and to show laps from re-brushing. The oil stains,

on the other hand, are free from these faults. They spread easily and

evenly, they do not raise the grain, they do not double up or show

laps or streaks, and they do not fade; but they have a few defects

which overbalance these good qualities. They have considerable body

which prevents them from penetrating equally all parts of the surface,

so that they do not carry in the colouring as either the water or

the alcohol stains do. Their oily nature causes them partly to close

up the filaments of the wood and thus interfere with the subsequent

process of filling. This is so bad a defect that oil stains are not

to be recommended for open-grained woods, the fine finish of which

depends so much on correct filling. They are more successful with the

close-grained woods, which need only to be surfaced with shellac or the

ordinary liquid filler.

_How Stain is Applied._--If furniture or any kind of woodwork is to

be artificially coloured, staining is the first of the finishing

operations to be attended to. The stain should be spread upon

well-cleaned surfaces by means of a brush, a cloth, or a sponge, and

allowed to stand for a few minutes so that it may penetrate well into

the wood. The surfaces should then be carefully wiped off with clean,

soft cloths or cotton waste to remove any stain that may not have

soaked into the wood, and thus prevent a streaked or painted effect.

After the stained surface is thoroughly dry, a filler, coloured to

match the stain, should be applied and rubbed well into the pores, as

already explained in the section on natural finish. The beginner will

need to be cautioned again and again not to rub the filler all off or

draw it out of the grain, but to rub it in as much as possible. He

will also need to be on his guard against the presence of moisture or

grease, which will interfere with good results.

Excellent prepared stains in great variety may be easily obtained of

dealers in painters' supplies. They will not always produce the effects

claimed for them, but with a little experimenting it is possible to

find prepared stains that will give almost any desired result. They are

somewhat expensive, however, and the amateur finisher may prefer to

develop his own stain. Following are some suggestions along this line:

_Asphaltum and Golden Oak Stain._--A good chocolate brown stain may

be produced on almost any light-coloured wood by a very thin varnish

made by colouring turpentine with asphaltum and applying with a brush.

A considerable quantity of asphaltum should be used, but not enough

to make a sticky liquid. This will need to be finished with shellac

or finishing varnish. When applied to quartered oak it produces the

beautiful effect known as golden oak. It may also be used on white wood

to give an imitation of black walnut; and Georgia pine under this stain

takes on a very attractive tone without obscuring the natural figure of

the wood.

_Mahogany._--A clever imitation of mahogany may be made by staining

birch of the right grain with logwood stain. The stain is made by

boiling together equal parts of logwood chips and water for about three

hours. While the mixture is hot, chloride of tin is added gradually

until the right shade of colour is produced. The stain should be

allowed to cool before it is applied, and then several coats may be

needed to secure the right depth of shade. The filler used should be

coloured with burnt umber and sienna. The finish may be a brilliant or

a flat varnish, or wax.

_Baywood as Mahogany._--Mahogany stain is also applied to baywood,

resulting in what commonly passes for real mahogany. The genuine

article, however, is an imported wood coming from South America,

Mexico, and Africa in several varieties; and it is a much harder wood

than the American baywood imitation. Both the birch and the baywood

imitations of mahogany may be so well stained and finished that it is

difficult to distinguish them from the imported varieties.

_Flemish Oak._--The various oak stains are worthy of special mention.

Flemish oak finish is very dark, almost black. It is prepared by first

applying a stain made of bichromate of potash dissolved in water in

the proportion of one half pound of bichromate to a gallon of water.

The solution should be strained and applied with a stiff brush. After

drying, the surface is well sand-papered and a coat of thin black stain

is applied, made by dissolving japan drop-black in turpentine. This is

allowed to stand a few minutes, then wiped off, and when the surface

is thoroughly dry a coat of thin shellac is applied. After a thorough

drying and hardening the surface is smoothed down with fine sand-paper

and finished with wax.

_Mission Oak._--The so-called mission oak finish may be in several

colours, but as a rule it is of a dull gray with the flakes slightly

reddish. The stain is made from drop-black in oil, tinged with a

little rose pink, and thinned with japan and turpentine. The mixture

should be strained through cheese cloth and applied with a staining

brush. Wax finish is invariably used for mission oak.

_Forest Green Oak._--Forest green oak is among the best of the green

effects in this wood. The stain is made by mixing two parts of chrome

green with one part of chrome yellow for the colouring material.

This is added to a mixture of three parts turpentine and one of raw

linseed oil, with a little white japan. The resulting stain should be

somewhat thinner than linseed oil. After this has been applied to the

oak surface, rubbed in and dried, it is given a coat of thin shellac

coloured with tumeric and a very little green aniline. This should have

a wax finish.

_Gray Oak._--A gray stain may be given to oak by a solution of iron

sulphate, made by dissolving a small quantity of chemically pure

crystals in water, and giving the solution a strongly acid quality by

adding a little sulphuric acid. This solution is most conveniently

used by placing it in a box tank large enough to contain the pieces of

wood to be stained, as they must soak in the solution until they are

thoroughly saturated. The pieces may be kept separate by stout cords

tied around them, and they may be held under the solution by means of

weights. When taken out they should be allowed to dry before they are

rubbed down.

_Weathered Oak._--Weathered oak stain is made by taking two ounces

of copperas and the same quantity of dry tannin, dissolving them

separately in about a quart of water, and when thoroughly dissolved

mixing them together. When applied to oak it gives it the natural

weathered tone with a slight bluish cast. It may then be oiled,

shellaced and finished with a flat varnish or wax.

_Fumed Oak and Chestnut._--But the most satisfactory method of giving

a brown tone to furniture or other woodwork, is without question, by

fuming with ammonia, though this process is limited to two woods,

viz., white oak and chestnut. All other woods, including red oak, are

deficient in tannic acid, the essential element to combine with the

ammonia gas in the production of the stain. This method requires a

fuming box of sufficient dimensions to contain the article of furniture

to be fumed. It must be carefully constructed with all its joints

made vapour proof by pasting over them strips of paper and covering

them with shellac. The top or one side of the box should be fastened

with screws, so that it may be vapour proof when the box is in use

and yet easily removed. The operation of fuming consists simply in

placing the furniture in the box with one or more shallow pans filled

with the strongest ammonia--not the household ammonia, which is too

weak--screwing the top or cover on, and allowing the apparatus to stand

from 12 to 24 hours, according to the shade desired. If the fuming box

be provided with small glass windows in its adjacent corners, a good

light will be thrown across the furniture so that the development of

colour may be observed without opening the box. When the desired shade

has been obtained and the furniture removed, it is best to give it a

good wax finish which will develop a beautiful velvety texture.

_Peculiarities of Fumed Finish._--It will be observed that the toning

of quartered oak by the fuming process develops the beauty of the grain

far better than any other process of staining; and there should also

be noted the still more remarkable fact that the contrasts of tone are

the reverse of those given by staining; _i. e._, the parts that appear

lighter in the one case are the darker parts in the other. This gives

a certain distinction to the fumed finish and furnishes a means of

detecting that which is not genuine.