Wood Conditioner Before Stain
This is the main reason behind a wood getting darker at various spots.
Wood conditioner before stain. Use a brush or cloth to apply a liberal coat of the pre-stain conditioner to all surfaces of your woodworking project. Stain manufacturers will recommend their own conditioners. Do you let wood conditioner dry before staining.
For water-based stains use Minwax Water Based Pre-Stain Wood Conditioner. As with the stain you will soon apply always work in the same direction as the wood grain when applying the wood conditioner. Yes mineral spirits are in fact a good pre-stain conditioner for wood assuming youre using an oil-based stain.
Wood Conditioner refers to the pre-staining step for interior wood projects before the application of an oil-based stain finish. Putting a conditioner over the stain will lift off the stain you applied. If you use anything before tung oil that creates any kind of barrier or seals the wood in any way youve defeated the benefit of Tung Oil.
A wood conditioner soaks into the sapwood and prevents blotching so the overall color is more uniform although somewhat lighter because the stain cant penetrate as deeply. To reduce blotching you need to apply a wood conditioner or sanding sealer before applying stain. Basically conditioner will stabilize the wood to allow stain to penetrate more evenly.
The whole purpose of Tung Oil is to soak into the wood not just be a surface layer finish. In this quick demonstratio. Quickly brush or wipe on the conditioner let it penetrate and wipe it off just like stain.
Wood conditioner is the best way to prevent oil-based stains from turning out blotchy on porous woods. Next you should wipe the wood with a dry cloth to remove any dust. Let Pre-Stain Conditioner dry at least 30 minutes but no longer than 2 hours before applying stain in ideal conditions.