How To Seal Stained Furniture. I've painted light colors over stained furniture and everything looked fine until i applied. If you plan to finish the piece with polyurethane, make sure the sealer is compatible.
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While wood stains add color and bring out the beauty of the wood, clear finishes protect the wood and enhance its beauty. Wood stains are available at all hardware for indoor furniture and wood that won't get wet, use a shellac sealant. If you are using stain only, it will be necessary to seal the finish with butcher's wax, tung oil, or some form of poly protective sealer.
Thompson's waterseal products typically need only one application, but you can apply a second coat of stain to darken the wood, if desired.
Staining wood furniture adds color and brings out the natural beauty of the grain. Bear in mind that staining and sealing are two completely different processes with completely different results. Although stain is permanent and won't flake off like paint, it penetrates only the top layer of the concrete surface and will eventually wear away as the surface is worn by traffic or weather. I don't seal everything, but i absolutely seal furniture when they are high traffic pieces.