Pre stain wood conditioner U.K

[Bob3435]

Hi guys

I was wondering if anyone has used a good pre stain wood conditioner.

I was watching a video on YouTube to stain my window sill and she had used a pre stain wood conditioner which I plan on doing as this gives a even colour when wood staining but unfortunately I can’t find these products in the uk, when searching the internet all product are coming up for America.

Thanks in advance

[dynamod]

Unless your wood is a really absorbent softwood, it's not likely to be needed over smaller areas in reality. You can get these products from e-bay but if you go this route, be sure to match the base (water or oil, as both exist) to the corresponding water or oil top coat.

On cills, I can't honestly say you're even likely to need a pre-stain conditioner.

[Puma]

It's a tricky one. I think Dynamod is right generally but if you have some areas maybe around a knot where the grain sticks out vertically it will absorb a lot of stain and go quite dark. The other thing which affects staining is dings and dents. Dents compress the wood so they stay lighter when staining, ditto grease or glue.

If you give the whole piece a sand with p180 before you begin this gives the right amount of tooth for the stain. Dents will have to be sanded out with a lower grade before finishing of with p180. Then use a cloth in a bun not a brush to apply (masking tape might be needed).

If you do have end grain you can just use a very thin coat of varnish as a presealer. Alternatively you can use a powder dye mix up a concentrate to the right level and apply with a damp cloth bun, this can help even out the stain - this way you aren't loading up the wood with liquid which can darken some areas alot.

[dynamod]

It's a tricky one

Wood can indeed have a multitude of variations which are hard to predict as no two pieces are identical. This by itself makes a single answer a wee bit of an educated guess.

[dewaltdisney]

If they ate internal cills they can be updated painted white. See my link below

DWD

[Bob3435]

So going by your guys advice the steps and products I will use are:

1. Fill small dents etc with wood filler (everbuild)
2. Sand down with 80 grit
4. Sand with 180 grit ( smooth finish)
5. Apply ronseal quick dry wood stain (2-3 coats)
6. finish with Rustin wood varnish satin.

Does this sound ok to you guys or am I missing something?