Can I apply wood stain just to the parts that need it?

Question

I have a wood desk that, somehow, got parts of the stain stripped off in little bits. I'm wondering if I can go to the store, pick up a can of a similar color and just paint on the tiny bit that I need in order to make it look a little better? Or do I need to strip the entire desk?

Answer 1

yes but don't paint it on,,,do it with  lint free cloth

Answer 2

I did this very thing with my kitchen cabinets and it worked great.  Get a similar shade of stain, apply it with a dry rag, wipe off. Repeat immediately  til u get it blended with the surrounding surface.

Answer 3

These http://www.spacesavers.com/furnmarkers.h... will probably do a much better job that trying to stain.  They are likely the same finish that's on there and will chemically bond with it.  You can usually find them at Bed, Bath, & Beyond, sometimes at Lowe's.

There are many more colors available in the professional versions.  I think I have about 40 in my kit.

Answer 4

Ahhhh, my area of expertise! Unfortunately, you should strip the entire deck. Otherwise you're going to kill yourself trying to keep up with the color variances. I know that stripping the deck seems like a big job, but if you have the right tools it's really not too bad.

First, do not use regular bleach to clean the deck! The chlorine breaks down the fibers of the wood and will cause your deck to deteriorate much quicker than it normally would. Use an oxygen-bleach cleaner; oxygen bleach wood deck cleaning solution is highly effective at removing dirt, grime, mold, algae, and weathered graying from wood surfaces. If you have a cedar deck, you will need to use a wood brightener after this; oxygen bleach will cause cedar to darken. A wood brightener will be an oxalic acid based product that will brighten the wood back to it's natural state.

Once you've cleaned the deck, use a penetrating water repellant wood stain. Thompsons is cheap but everyone knows it. If you use something like that, be prepared to have to re-treat your deck every 6 months. You don't want something that will "seal" the wood. Wood will naturally expand and contract; if something is sitting on the surface of your wood, it will crack and peel (which I suspect is what is happening currently). You want something to penetrate the wood to provide lasting protection. These types of products are usually applied only once a year.

www.saversystems.com

This is a company that I worked for for many years and their products have been tested in the toughest conditions. They have more good information on their site.

Good luck to you!!