Wood Staining Techniques
Bob BrownDescription
Narrow gauge modeler Bob Brown has two staining techniques that he uses on his Tuolumne Forks model railroad. The stain is created by mixing isopropyl rubbing alcohol with a few drops of black leather dye in a small container. It is important to test the mixture with a scrap piece of wood to make sure the stain is not too dark. It is much easier to build color up than strip it away or dilute it.
Brown utilizes two methods to apply the stain. One way is to dip the piece of wood in the stain, which creates a nice gray color. The other technique is to brush the stain on. This brush method is also used to stain clapboard siding. It is an easy way to weather wood and to blend structures together on the layout.
One way that Brown achieves the variegated colors on his cars is to wipe the stain on the wood. A cloth is saturated with thinner and then dipped in the base color and a driftwood color to tone it down. It is important to not use a white color with the base because this will change red dyes to pink. Brown always uses gloves when applying stain this way. The stain is applied to the strip of wood by wrapping the cloth around it and running it along the length. This is how Brown creates a variegated look on his layout.
You do a lot of staining on the railroad that drives techniques that you use. Let's, let's, let's see how you do some of that. Okay, let me show you some two staining techniques I use. I simply take isopropyl rubbing alcohol, put a few drops of black leather dye into the alcohol to create my stain which I then move into a smaller bottle so it's easier to handle. It is important that you test your, your basswood into the alcohol so that you don't get too much stain. It's easier to build it up than take it down. There are two ways I apply the stain. One way is to simply dip it and you notice how that comes out with a nice gray appearance. It's not black. The other is to brush it on, which is very easy to do and it dries to a wonderful, warm gray color. And I also use this technique to stain scribed wood or in this case, case clapboard siding. You notice how variegated and how, whether the gray goes on. It's a very simple technique and it will help blend your structures together. One of the ways I get the variegated colors on my cars is to wipe the wood and I'm first, I, I, I saturate my cloth with thinner and then I put on my base color and then I use some driftwood here to tone the color down. Do not use white because white will make box color red as an example, pink. So I go to driftwood instead, notice I'm using gloves here because this is, these are toluene based paints. Now this is how I apply it to strip wood. Kind of wrap it around the wood and... wipe it along. Again, getting the variegated colors. Sometimes you have thicker red, sometimes thinner red and when you are finished you will put all these colors, these strips together and it'll give you the variegated and muted look that I try and achieve on Twomey forks.
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