Hand pad for antique finishing

Now in this article we want to share the special hand pad finish. The finish is using the padding technique to apply the stain. The stain is padded by dampened cloth to the finish surface to make color to the wood. The result is an uneven coloring stain with special effects resulted by the rag mark and the padding technique. But in this process the stain is layered by spray technique, and then the stain layer is padded by a thinner wet cloth. With this technique we will get the special effect from the padding technique but with faster process.  

 hand padded finish panel

The finishing process is as follow.

• Stain application.

The first step is the stain application. It is the most important step. This step is not only to make the color but also to make the special padding effects. The color and the smudge effects in this step will determine to the final color and the special looked to the final finishing. To get the right color then we need to control this step well. First, the stain is sprayed evenly to the entire surface, make sure we apply the stain with right color and proper thickness.
 You can see tha padding in this video:

padding the stain video

The second process is the padding. Dip a cloth into a stain thinner. Alcohol is the most suitable thinner to to the padding.  Pad the wet rag to the stain randomly to the stain to make the "smudge looked" effect. Do the padding to the overall surface evenly. Then checks and make observation for the staining result. Make sure we get the color and smudge effects we need. We still can make any corrections in this step if necessary. Too much stain still can be reduced by wipe off with damp cloth. If the color is considered too light, then we can re spray the stain to add color. We also can repeat the padding process to make sure we get smudge effect.

 smudge pad stain

• Sealer application.

The next step is the sealer application. The sealer is used to protect the color and effects resulted from the previous application. The sealer is also needed to prepare the smooth surface for the glaze application. The sealer is applied by wet coat spray to coat to the overall surface. Let the sealer  coat dry and sand the sealer with # 280 grade sandpaper to get the smooth surface.

• Glaze application

Glaze is applied to build the color and make the depth at the finishing looked.  Glaze is applied by rag or brush to the overall surface. Rag the glaze and brush it evenly to overall surface. Make the glaze coat to the surface evenly.  Highlight the glaze to enhance the grain and the color of the finishing. Let it dry for about 1 hour.

• 2nd sealer application

Second sealer is applied to protect the color from the glaze and also to build the finishing film. Spray the sealer 1 layer wet coat to the overall surface evenly. Wait for about 30 minutes to let it dry, then sand the sealer as the first sealer.

• Dry brush glaze to make antique and old looked.

The next process is glaze application to make antique and old looked. Glaze is brushed to burnish the edges to make the dirty and old looked. Glaze is also brushed to fill in the gap, crevices and the distressed part s to make the hang up and more "life looked".

 the antique smudge chair finish

• Top coat application.

Top coat is the last finishing layer. Top coat serves to build the sheen and also to give protection to the color and looked of the finishing. The top coat with semi gloss or semi doff is the best choice for this finish. The top coat must be applied by spray to get the smooth and even finish. Spray the the top coat evenly to the overall surface. Let the top coat to dry and check the finish film resulted. Make sure we get the smooth film with even gloss. If necessary we can re sand the top coat layer and apply another layer of top coat to the finish surface.