Stain for Distressing Crafts: Before or After?

Considerations

• Distressing wood projects can involve many steps or be as easy as sanding away parts of an existing finish to artificially age the finish. Generally when working with new or unfinished wood, getting the right look will require more steps, and staining will be one of them. The timing of the stain application will often depend on what steps you plan to take to distress the wood.

Physically Distressing Wood

• One method of distressing wood involves actually damaging its surface to emulate the bumps and dents wood accumulates over time. This can include using a rubber mallet to reproduce dents or a rasp to file away sections to imitate decades of wear and tear. Sandpaper can be used to round sharp corners and edges, and some hobbyists even hit the furniture with a cloth bag full of nuts and bolts to produce artificial and random nicks and dents. Coarse sandpaper can be used to randomly damage the wood's original finish. Stain can be used at this stage to artificially age the fresh wood exposed by the damage; simply apply and wipe off any stain on undamaged areas. The damaged areas can then be covered with tape or petroleum jelly while the rest of the piece is refinished or distressed in other ways.

Painting Methods

• With unfinished wood, you can apply a layer or two of paint, then sand or scrape it away to expose the underlying wood. One popular technique is to apply layers of two different colors, allowing the first to dry completely, and then sanding to different levels to reveal streaks of the first coat and streaks of the underlying wood. Stain can then be applied to the underlying wood to make it appear darkened with age. If you prefer, the entire piece can be stained, then a darker shade used to artificially age the flaws in the wood.

Final Step

• No matter what, the stain is not the final step in distressing wood projects. The stain has to be varnished or lacquered to preserve its look, or it may continue to distress naturally over time.