# How to DIY a distressed Farm Kitchen Table.



## 47_47 (Sep 11, 2007)

Looks great. Video easy to follow. It didn't matter too much for this project, but before staining pine use a prestrain conditioner.

Welcome to the forums!


----------



## rober102 (Oct 5, 2017)

Awesome, Thank you. Is pine the only wood that you need to condition? What does conditioning do?


----------



## 47_47 (Sep 11, 2007)

Pine, maple and cherry are the three I know of. The conditioner partial seals the wood and reduces the blotchiness of the stain. Is blotchiness a word?


----------



## add50317 (Feb 22, 2010)

Looks great!


----------



## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

47_47 said:


> Pine, maple and cherry are the three I know of. The conditioner partial seals the wood and reduces the blotchiness of the stain. Is blotchiness a word?


As mentioned wood conditioner will partially seal the wood. Pine is notorious for having both hard and soft areas in the wood. Soft wood will absorb more stain than hard areas. The conditioner helps the stain to absorb at a more consistent rate. It does cause the stain to be lighter in color.

Maple doesn't stain well and is often limited to either a light stain or tint in the poly/finish. Not sure I've ever stained any cherry although it does tend to have a lot of color variations.


----------



## SeniorSitizen (Sep 10, 2012)

On some projects, when old varnish etc. needs to be removed, a cabinet scraper also called a card scraper in some circles, can be used to speed the process. When using one you will also, on certain pieces of wood, will quickly learn about grain direction.


----------

