Pad stain application in the wood finishing

Pad stain is one of a special stain that is used on wood furniture finishing processes. It is a stain that is used to form color in the finishing process. According to its name the stain is applied by padding or smearing on the sealer or top coat. Pad stain actually also can be applied with spray method, especially to even and blend the color of a furniture product.  

Pad stain is made from organic pigments with alcohol solvent in order to be easily applied by padding on the sealer or top coat. Alcohol is a weak solvent for clear coating used in the purpose to make the application can be easier and better controlled. If the applications of pad stain is too much, it still can be corrected since it is be easily removed and reduced with steel wool without damage too much for the clear coating thereon. The organic pigment is the best choice because it will produce a brighter coloration, with less cover up to the color underneath. It help in avoid from too much coloring that will cover and dull the final color looked. The organic stain keep the final color bright and give better grain appearance.

But however the adjusting color by the pad stain should not be too much. Too much addition of color above sealer tends to block and reduce the beauty appearance of the wood grain. To get the maximum beauty, the coloring process should be correct and strong enough in the stain application to the wood. 
Instead of being used to add color the pad stain is also widely used to create special finishing effects. The application of pad stain is to generate finishing effects to make the finishing appearance be more interesting and alive. 

• Hand Pad 

Hand pad is the application pad stain on the clear coating surface by padding. The rag is wet with the pad stain then the rag is padded or smeared on the sealer or top coat layer. How the pad stain is applied on the surface or how is the padding pattern will directly create the finishing effects resulted. There is a hand pad technique that is done to enhance the appearance of wood grain, while the other hand pad is to create the impression dirty (smudge pad). The hand pad to enhance the wood grain is done in accordance to the existing pattern of the wood grain. and the product design. The application pad stain should according and to the grain pattern, and blended with the grain pattern naturally.  The hand pad that is done properly will produce a lively appearance of a furniture product with the character of the wood grain is showed up beautifully. To master the hand pad technique the finishing peoples need to find the pattern of wood grain and the furniture design and combine them with the pad stain technique to make an interesting furniture product.

The hand pad to enhance the grain looked

• Smudge pad.

 

Smudge pad is a hand pad techniques which is used to form the gross impression on the surface finishing. The pad stain is padded in an irregular pattern to make dirty looked. How much the dirty effect and how thick the pad stain is depend on the final finishing desired. This technique is also can be done to burnish and darken on the some parts like the edges to make the old looked impressed. The same technique can be dome on a solid color to create a marble finishing as in the mural finishing. As well as the hand pad to enhance the wood grain, smudge pad should also be done with a touch of art and sense. Smudge pad need to be done by always considering the form factor, wood grain, design and the final color desired. 

Smudge pad to make dirty looked

• Application pad stain by spray. 

Pad stain is also can be applied as a final coloring adjustment to meet the target final color. Pad stain to this purpose is usually applied on the sealer or top coat layer before the last top coat application. When we do finishing process especially in the mass production process, we have to prepare a final adjustment stain before the last coat. The color result by the stain application is difficult to be viewed because at the time there is no film on it.  The finishing color will be more easily seen and observed after the application of sealer or top coat when there is already enough thick film on it.  From this reason it very difficult to rely the final color by the wood stain and the glaze application, so we better prepare a step to setting color before the last coat . Pad stain is the stain used as a final adjustment to ensure that the finishing color for the whole products is even and blend properly.

The uses pad stain for add and even the final color is easily and quickly done using spray method. The spray gun will make the addition color can be done with more quickly performed,  and easy to be controlled  to produce the desired final color. Nevertheless the addition color on clear coating should not be too much because it will reduce the beauty appearance of the wood grain underneath. Too much color on the clear coating will block and kill the beauty of the wood. Highlight for the pad stain by wipe off the pad stain in some part (the same principle with the highlight for the glaze) is one simple trick that can be done to avoid too much pad stain on the surface.