Buy Stain? ♥ Shops.ae

About Stains

If you want to change the way your furniture looks and add a weatherproof coating on them, then the easiest way to achieve it is to use wood stain on them. They are easy to apply, affordable, and the coating can last for a really long time.

People have been staining wood for hundreds of years. You can see stained wood inside medieval buildings across Europe and America. But they have only increased in popularity ever since people first started using them. Using a good quality wood stain, and with a little skill, you can make any piece of furniture look like they are made out of high-quality exotic wood. The best part is that it won’t cost you much. Read this article to know more about wood stains. Having a better understanding of them will help you make the right choices when you are shopping.

Different types of wood stains

One great thing about stains is that they come in a lot of different types with a lot of different textures and finishes. You can get clear coat finish, semitransparent finish or a completely opaque finish. You can use any one of them depending on whether or not you want the original texture of the wood to show or not. Because of the mass-production techniques that are perfected over the years, and due to the availability of synthetic formulas that are really easy to produce in large quantities, the price of wood colour has come down dramatically over the years.

Oil-based

Oil-based ones are the most widely used type of wood stain. This is not surprising as they are really affordable and easily available. The main component of oil stain, linseed oil, comes from nature. Because of that, this type of stain is non-toxic. The chemical properties of oil stain also allow you to easily clean up spills. Therefore, you don’t have to worry much even if you make some inconsistencies when you apply the stain. Hence, this translates into a faster workflow as you don’t have to put a lot of attention to every single stroke of your brush.

Wood varnish

The finish you get when you use wood varnish is almost similar to that of the oil stain. But in this case, the ingredients are completely artificial. Because of that, it is easy to create a formulation that gives you the best results. Therefore, it is not surprising that a coat of varnish dries out much faster than oil stain and provides a consistent and hard coat with little effort. But there is also a downside. If you apply an uneven coat of varnish, it is harder to remove than if it were oil stain. So, you will have to scrub off the old layer and paint it again.

Water-based

As you can probably tell from the name itself, a water-based stain is just a regular paint dissolved in a water medium. The benefit of this type of paint is that they are natural and do not contain any ingredients that can potentially cause any irritation. And compared to other types of wood stains, this is incredibly cheap. But all the good things in life come with some downsides. Similarly, there are a few disadvantages of water-based wood stains. It requires much more experience and skill to get a good finish with them. The grains inside wood rise up when it gets wet. So, you will have to sand it off before applying the final coat.

Gel

This is basically an oil-based paint with a thick consistency similar to mayonnaise. As you can imagine, applying this paint on a wood surface can be difficult and messy. But it is worth going through because the finish that you will get using this is superior to other types of stains. You are pretty much guaranteed to get a shiny, splotch free coat if you are using this wood stain. So, if you are ready to put in a bit of work to get a superior finish, then you should probably consider using a gel stain. Gel stain is especially ideal for staining pine wood.

Tips on how to buy Wood Stains

Finding the right type of wood stain can be harder than you might think. Because there are half a dozen different types of them, that too, with a range of different finishes and textures, it is easy to choose the wrong type. If you happen to start applying the wrong kind of product and realise that you need a different one, it will take a lot of work to redo. However, it gets easier to find the right one if you know what to look for in them. Here are a few tips that you can follow when you are shopping.

Type of wood stain – Firstly, you need to decide what kind of wood stain you want. Depending on how experienced you are at applying the paint, how much time you have, and how good of a finish you want, you can choose oil-based paint, water-based paint, gel stain or any other. The cost of the stain also depends on the type of stain.

Texture of the stain – The type of the finish is also important. You can get three types of finishes using wood stains: solid, semitransparent, and clear sealer. Solid stains are heavily tinted and therefore cover the original texture of the wood completely. But if you want to preserve the original texture of the wood and just want a protective coating, then clear sealers are the way to go.

Toxicity – There are wood paints that are 100 per cent natural to those that are completely artificial. Naturally, wood paints with natural ingredients are non-toxic to humans. On the other hand, if you are using a wood stain with artificial ingredients like varnish, then make sure there is enough ventilation to avoid inhaling varnish fumes.

Environmental safety – Some wood stains contain certain volatile organic compounds that are harmful to the environment. These components are present more in products with artificial ingredients. Even though you might not feel their bad effects if you are using it once in a blue moon, but in the case of professional painters, constant exposure to them can cause respiratory problems and dizziness.

There are a few items that every DIYer out there should have. These include basic tools like screwdrivers, spanners, torque wrenches, paint scrapers, paint brushes, measuring tools, drills, drill bits, painting supplies and basic cutting tools. The good news is that you can find all of them easily using our shopping search engine . That way you can compare the prices and features of different products and find the best one among them. Also, don’t forget to explore other useful products from the DIY category.

Question & Answer

How to stain wood?

The difference between stain and paint is that the former can penetrate deep into the surface and change the colour of the wood. So, before staining, you should open up the pores on the surface by sanding. You can do staining with a cloth, a foam brush, or a regular bristle brush. Make sure that you apply it evenly without leaving any bloats. Leave it on the wood to dry for a few hours. After that, wipe off any remaining unabsorbed paint using a dry cloth. Wipe it off carefully so as not to leave any swirl marks on the surface of the wood.

Can you use wood stain on concrete?

Surprisingly, you can use any kind of wood paint to add a layer of the coat to unpainted concrete. But the preparations that you need to do in the case of concrete is different from the way you prepare wood for staining. First of all, clean the concrete surface and remove any traces of loose concrete or mud. Use any water-based degreaser to remove grease and oil. Use a four-inch-thick oil brush to apply stain on the concrete. After smoothening the coat, allow it to dry for more than five hours. After that, apply a second coat to make it darker.

Can you stain pressure treated wood?

Yes, it is possible to stain pressure treated wood. However, you will need to take a few extra precautions in this case. Besides cleaning the surface of the wood and sanding, you should also wait for the wood to be completely dry before staining. In order to check the moisture level of the wood, you can put a drop of water on the wood. If the droplet beads, that means there is still moisture in the wood. In fact, it will take a few weeks for a pressure treated wood to dry. After that, you can pretty much do it the same way as you would with any other type of wood.

If you are looking to buy statins online in the UAE, look no further as you are in the right place. There are more than 500 shops and brands offering them here on Shops.ae. These shops offer brands like Varathane, Minwax, Jotun, Sadolin, Rustins, Zinsser, and Ronseal.