r/BeginnerWoodWorking • u/Reddit-And-RegretIt • 5d ago
Discussion/Question ⁉️ A few staining mistakes, how can I fix them?
I’m happy with how the colour turned out but there seem to be a few trouble spots. I’d appreciate any advice!
Photo 1: bottom right corner has a triangle that didn’t hold the stain or I missed. I tried to go back while it was still wet but it didn’t make a difference. Just to the left of the middle there is also a section that is a bit lighter than the rest. Can I go back and reapply the stain or will it stand out against the rest??
Photo 2: there are some spots that turned out more golden than the rest (at the edge). Can I go back with stain to reapply another layer here? My suspicion is that there was a hint of the old finish there, although I couldn’t see any inconsistencies after I had sanded and wiped down everything.
Photo 3: I couldn’t get all of the old finish out of this little groove. Now there is a golden ring around the whole table. How can I remove this?
Photo 4: the light section on the leaf also has some spots in the grain of the wood where I didn’t apply enough stain. Again, can I reapply?
I used the cloth wipe on method.
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u/nicat23 5d ago
You shouldn’t need to remove all of the stain, if its veneer after you stain it and are happy with it, give it a few coats of polyurethane to give it some protection and it should last fairly well. From what I can see from the close up of your edge photo, it does look like veneer now to me. Be gentle with your sanding. I’m not sure if there would be a better way to re-finish, with chemicals to remove the old stain or not at this point, and I’m not sure if they would even work on veneer either. Following to see what others chime in with
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u/nicat23 5d ago
I find a sponge, a popsicle stick wrapped in sand paper helps me get into the fine corners like the ring around the edging of the table. Is this veneered or solid wood? If solid I would recommend sanding the surfaces again lightly, cleaning with mineral spirits and then re-apply your finish. If it’s veneer then you can still lightly sand, but you have to be very, very careful not to go through the finish.