# Dust and debris fell into in wet stain



## cluelessbeginner (Nov 20, 2012)

I am refinishing an old tabletop. I was having trouble getting the stain even-colored and dark enough, so I googled around and found several websites that recommended not wiping off the excess stain, and instead letting an even coat of stain dry on the piece.

I did use that method and the color and finish looks beautiful, but while the stain was still tacky, some dust, a couple of gnats and a few pieces of dog hair settled into the stain. Now that the stain is dry, is it OK to lightly sand it to remove the debris or will that ruin the look of the finish and scratch it up? Right now the tabletop is perfectly smooth and shiny so I am reluctant to scuff it up. Maybe scuffing it won't matter, since I am going to apply wipe-on poly once I remove the dust and debris. Will the wipe-on ploy erase any scuffs that occur from sanding off the debris or have I ruined the piece by not wiping the stain as directed on the can?

I am new to this, so thanks in advance!


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

We just did this topic a week ago with Stain Help. Leaving the stain on and not wiping it off is a really bad idea. The stain is not suitable as a coating. When you apply your topcoat the finish will bond to the layer of stain rather than the wood and fail. The last time I did this before suspending it the finish lasted two weeks before it started pealing off. I had to completely strip the furniture and do it over. If the stain is not dark enough you need to either mix a stain that is dark enough or use a dye stain first to get the majority of the color. Anyway if it hasn't been too long I would wash the table down with lacquer thinner and try to get the excess stain off. This will in turn take the dust off. Now since it won't be dark enough you can go over what you have with either a aniline dye or transtint dye to supplement the color. Then it would be safe to topcoat. The dyes are more similar to ink and won't interfere with the adhesion of your topcoat.


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## cluelessbeginner (Nov 20, 2012)

Thanks so much for your help, Steve. Ugh -- I sure wish I had not taken that bad advice to not wipe the stain. There are apparently quite a few people doing this and giving out this advice. I had never heard of analine dyes before now. Can I get that at HDepot or Lowe's? I wish I had done more research before I did it! Thanks again, I appreciate it!


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

cluelessbeginner said:


> Thanks so much for your help, Steve. Ugh -- I sure wish I had not taken that bad advice to not wipe the stain. There are apparently quite a few people doing this and giving out this advice. I had never heard of analine dyes before now. Can I get that at HDepot or Lowe's? I wish I had done more research before I did it! Thanks again, I appreciate it!


No, aniline dyes are more of a professional product. You can get it by mail order in powder form from Mohawk Finishing Products. The powder can be mixed with denatured alcohol. They sell it already mixed but because it has alcohol in it there would be a hefty hasmat fee with it. They are called NGR stains. It is better sprayed but can be applied with a rag. Wear gloves because it is a ink. It will stain your paws. What appears to be better product called Transtint. I haven't used it yet but I'm sure it can be ordered without the hasmat fees. Sherwin Williams makes some dye stains also but I know nothing about them. 

When I started my business I refinished a piece of furniture for a customer and I picked out the closest color stain I could find to meet the color they wanted. I stained it and wiped it off and it was too light. I though I would just put some more stain back on it so I put stain in a sprayer and lightly shaded a coat of stain over the entire piece and let it dry. The next day I sealed it and finished it and delivered it to the customer and they liked it just fine. Two weeks later they called me and said the finish was coming off the table. I went to look at it and sure nuf there were spots all over it where the finish was just flaking off with the lighter wood showing. I had to completely refinish the table and at the same time made a bad impression with a customer


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