How to Do Stain Accents Over Paint

Stains are designed to seep into and seal wood, while paint seals wood by sitting on top of it. Stain can be applied over paint to accent parts of it, but you must take some extra precautions because the stain cannot seep into the paint and is likely to form drip and spatter patterns. Stain comes in semitransparent and semisolid varieties. The semisolids, sometimes called solid color stains, can easily be applied over painted wood that is in good condition. Semitransparent stains, the most common type, can be applied over paint to accent the color already on the wood.

Things You'll Need

• Masking tape
• Semitransparent stain
• Paintbrush

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Instructions

1. • 1

     Mask over those areas of wood that you don't want stained. Then mask over them a second time. Stain that cannot penetrate into wood wants to spread out onto the paint until it is fully dry.

   • 2

     Apply stain over those areas you have not masked. You may use multiple coats, but make sure to let each coat fully dry before applying the next. Let each coat dry for a full day.

   • 3

     Dry each coat for at least a day. Add an extra day when you dry the final coat.

   • 4

     Remove the masking tape after final drying is complete.