Furniture is an expensive investment to make and making basic furniture from scratch at home can be a good alternative, provided that it is coupled with good woodworking skills. Most people tend to use odd bits of wood, which are never in a desirable color. Understanding how to stain wood becomes extremely important in such situations. There are several synthetic lacquers available in the market, and they can be used to stain wood. However, these synthetic dyes can be toxic, and no one wants to bring toxic substances into their homes. Additionally, these lacquers cannot be altered to suit a personal need.
A good solution is an easy and inexpensive way to stain wood, which is non-toxic. There are various ways to stain wood. This blog post will explain how to stain wood with tea! It brings out a weathered look on wood, and there are no rubber gloves, smelly chemicals or long drying periods involved!
The processes of learning how to stain wood with tea can be very appealing and fun. This idea is slightly unconventional and may lead to disbelief that something consumable can produce such a strong stain on wood. This step-by-step tutorial on how to stain wood with tea should answer all questions and premonitions. Keep reading!
What will be needed to know how to stain wood with tea
1) Teabags
Teabags from local grocery stores can be used to stain wood with tea. Remember that the stronger the tea is, the darker the stain would be. It is not recommended to use very weak tea, as it might not produce a desirable stain.
2) Preferred equipment for boiling water
A kettle or your gas stove can be used. Anything that is functional enough to make everyday tea.
3) Container to hold the tea
A cup or any other container to hold the hot tea water can be used. It is suggested that you do not use plastic, as it is not very safe to hold hot liquids in plastic containers.
4) Foam paintbrush
A rag or a sponge can also be instead. It can be found in a garage or a local handicraft store.
5) The wood you want to stain
During the process of how to stain wood with tea, any type of wood can be used. It is recommended to always have smaller pieces of wood handy in order to be able to test the tea stains on wood.
6) Sandpaper
This should be easily available at any local handicrafts store and is fairly inexpensive to purchase.
7) Sealant
This can be procured easily online or at any local handicrafts store. It will help give the woodwork project an excellent finish.
Step-by-step instructions on how to stain wood with tea
Step 1: Getting the wood ready
Using the sandpaper, sand the wood thoroughly. It is very important that this is done, to ensure that the finishing of your woodwork project is smooth. A good way to do this is to sand the wood by drawing a light pencil line on the wood. Then rub the sandpaper against the wood in the direction of the grain until the pencil line disappears. This will ensure that the wood is now ready to absorb the tea stain. It would be recommended that you start with a 60 grit sandpaper and work your way up to 220 grit.
Once this is done, use a vacuum cleaner or cloth to remove any sawdust or dirt.
Step 2: Getting the tea ready
Start by boiling the water and then add in the teabags. The preparatory process is the same process you follow to make everyday tea. Let it steep for as long as you can, but it is recommended to wait at least for an hour. Once done, remove the teabags and pour the dark liquid into a container.
Quick tip: Prepare the tea stain liquid in mason jars because it makes it easier to store any excess quantities in the refrigerator. Feel free to use any container of choice.
Step 3: Applying the tea stain liquid to the wood
The process of applying the liquid to the wood is quite straightforward. All that needs to be done is to dip the paintbrush or rag into the liquid and apply it onto the wood. To develop a darker stain, allow the first coat to dry for about 5 to 7 minutes and then reapply the liquid onto the wood. Repeat this as desirable, but remember to allow the wood to dry completely between different coats. This will help develop an estimate of how dark the stain on the wood is.
Step 4: Applying a sealant
Allow the wood to dry for about 60 minutes and then apply the sealant of choice. Any clean brush or a rag can be used. Remember to use long strokes to cover the entire surface evenly.
You will notice that the tea stain will not be blotchy and it will even out the wood tone. It is strongly recommended to test out the wood stain on spare pieces of wood before you apply it on wooden furniture, shelves or other accessories. It is completely possible to re-stain the wood by making a new stain and applying it over the older stain, or sanding the wood and starting the entire process again. But this is a very cumbersome and time-consuming process, and might even affect the finishing of the product.
That is it on how to stain wood with tea. This is a very intriguing and interesting process and must be tried by every woodwork enthusiast. Do try this at home and share your thoughts, suggestions and outcomes. The community loves to hear personal woodworking stories! Don’t forget to hit the like button and share this with everybody who might be interested in understanding how to stain wood with tea.
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