One of the drawbacks of using a water based stain on raw pine is that it can raise the grain on the wood. Raised wood grain wasn’t really a problem with oil based stains, but it is one of the only disadvantages that you will find using a water based stain.

An easy, and zero cost, option to stop the grain on the wood from raising too after staining is to apply a light coat of water to the timber prior to the final sanding.

This video shows you how to do it …

We are currently working on a timber arrow for our youngest son’s bedroom that we want to stain. The idea behind using a water based stain is that it should be lower odour and have lower VOC.

By using a very light application of water to the timber prior to the final sanding and stain should give us a much smoother, and more “professional” finish to the final project.

Photo via Russell Wisniewski