Can You Put a Wood Glaze or Gel Stain Over an Already Stained bit of Wood?

You may use a glaze to include colour effects to your finished piece of timbernonetheless, applying glaze to bare wood isn’t recommended, even if the wood is stained. The glaze produces unsightly blotches and patches of uneven color. You can apply gel stain over stained, unfinished hardwood, however, to soften the color. You can also utilize gel stain as a glaze on finished hardwood to provide shading and antiquing effects.

Stains Are Merely for Color

Liquid and gel stains don’t protect wood. They sink into the grain, plus they contain pigments or dyes which provide color. You have to seal the timber after implementing them. Penetrating oils which contain pigments are an exception — that the oil hardens in the timber to seal it — but they aren’t true stains. Wood that has been stained, but not finished, remains porous, and it’ll take another stain. If you aren’t happy with the color of one stain, then you can always darken it with more stain before you seal the timber.

Gel Stains and Glazes

A gel stain may look similar to your glaze, but they aren’t the exact same thing. Like a fluid stain, a gel stain has no hardening agent. The only difference between a gel stain and a fluid is that the accession of a thickening agent, which prevents the stain away from seeping and running. A glaze contains pigment, however, the pigment is dissolved at a varnish or shellac base so it will harden on the surface of a pre-existing finish. Some glazes are so well pigmented they look like paint, and in some cases, you may use real paint or primer for leakage.

Working With Unfinished Wood

Should you employ gel stain into a bit of bare wood, the pigment soaks to the grain, and also the timber presumes the colour of the stain. If the timber is stained, the colour becomes a combination of the new and existing stains. Should you apply a glaze to bare wood, however, some of it excels in, though some stays on the surface. If you apply the conventional technique and wipe the glaze with a rag, you are left with blotches of colour and an uneven seal. It looks attractive only in rare cases when an unconventional finish is desired.

Effective Glazing

The correct time to employ glazing to stained hardwood is once you have sealed the wood with a coat of clear varnish, shellac or sanding sealer and possibly a coat of clear finish. After the finish hardens, the glaze stays on top of it, and it’s simple to get shading and other colour effects by managing how much of this glaze you wipe away. Once the desired result has been achieved, protect the glaze with one or 2 more coats of clear finish. As it is thick enough to wipe, gel stain produces a glaze suitable for adding shading to pre-stained and sealed hardwood.

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