Alcohol Stain Affecting Smoothness Of Wood.

[Claptonfreak]

For my current project I wanted a very distinct cherry red color. So I decided to use Stewmac's stain concentrate (By colortone I think). Anyway, I sanded everything to 400 before I began staining, everything was grain filled and smooth. I wiped on the stain in many coats until the mahogany was very red in color. The stain did not raise any remaining grains but it did leave the wood less smooth than it was before. I used 99% alcohol to reduce the stain concentrate. My question is, what can I do to make the wood glass smooth again, wipe with a damp rag? sand with 400 again? and if I have to sand what will it do to the color?

[dugg]

It depends on what you mean by glass smooth. I would say that you can only get glass smooth with a scraper. But, if you're planning to finish it with some thick goop like laquer, the sandpaper will be good enough. Just wrap it around a wood block to make sure you're just knocking down the high points.

[Maiden69]

I'm not getting what you are asking? What is your goal? What I have done in the past is to seal the mahogany and then spray with a toner coat to get the desired tone of cheery.

[Claptonfreak]

What I'm saying is before I applied my stain, I had grain filled the wood and it was extremely smooth. Now, after applying the alcohol it's doesn't have the same "Glass Smooth" feel. And i'm wondering if i need to restore this feel before applying Nitro Laquer to ensure a smooth finish in the end.

[dugg]

Yeah, you better sand it first or you'll have to apply a million coats to cover the bumps.

[Maiden69]

I never had that problem, I always do a cycle of sand-damp-dry-sand until I get no grain to raise. Maybe that is what you are gettnig? Or just that the grain filler you used didn't like the alcohol? I would sand a little dry with 400 or 600. Remember that if you sand too hard you run into the problem of sanding thru the color and having an un even color at the end.