The final step in crafting Amish Furniture Factory’s high quality furniture is to have it stained and sealed. Why do we stain our furniture? Staining furniture protects it and also makes it more beautiful as well. The craftsmanship and natural beauty of the wood become all the more evident and pronounced once the staining process has been completed.
Another key reason to opt for stained furniture is that stained furniture allows our customers to get the exact color and look they want for their home. Being able to choose from different staining options allows homeowners to achieve a great match for their home.
The process begins when a completed item arrives at the finishing station. Take a look at this schedule and you will see why a quality finish requires two to three days to complete.
- When the piece arrives it is carefully disassembled to allow the spray to get into any corners and small areas .
- A prep sanding is performed to eliminate any minor scratches that occurred during shipping and handling.
- The solvent based stain in the color of your choice is applied with a sprayer and immediately wiped with a soft cloth to create a uniform appearance.
- The piece is left do dry. The drying time will vary depending on the weather and humidity in the air but usually takes a couple of hours.
- To seal the grain pattern and the color, the first coat of clear sealer is sprayed on and left to dry.
- Once dry the entire piece is hand sanded again using an extra fine grit sandpaper.
- A clear top coat is now applied and, again, allowed to dry.
- The final step is to reassemble the piece and install any glass door inserts or shelves, hardware etc.
A solvent based stain is most commonly used and responsibly disposed of along with other waste products. Lets go into more detail on what this process involves:
Disassembling All Furniture for Precision Staining
All furniture arrives at our staining facility in Wakarusa, Indiana assembled. Once on site, the furniture is carefully disassembled. The reason is that once disassembled each piece of the furniture can be carefully stained. Through this disassembly, it is possible to properly stain every single inch and area of the furniture so that the durability and beauty provided by staining reaches every part of a given piece of furniture.
How extensive is the process? The answer is very as legs and leaves are taken off of tables, backs are taken off of chairs and drawers are pulled out of hutches. The end result is that our beautiful staining reaches all possible points.
It is important to note that staining isn’t limited to one layer, but is instead a multi-layer process. By applying several layers of finish, your furniture enjoys a much greater degree of long-lasting protection. Our finish is designed to help your furniture remain beautiful for years to come. Now let’s turn our attention to how staining is applied to furniture.
The First Spray
The first spray is an extremely important part of the staining and finishing process. Since the first spray determines the color of the piece, it is important to get it right. It is also vital that the first spray is applied thoroughly and evenly in order to achieve an excellent final look. A spray gun that uses compressed air is a key tool in the staining process. By using a spray gun, the stain is forced out of the nozzle in a heavy but accurate mist.
The spraying station at Amish Furniture Factory has been specially designed to deal with stain, fumes and vapors that are in the air. A large exhaust vent is used to take fumes and vapors outside and away from those working in the spraying station and the factory. A huge filter is hung on the back of the station and changed once a week. An air unit then pumps fresh Amish country air directly back into the building. The end result is a safe spraying station.
Furniture is spun and maneuvered via a specially designed stand. This stand allows furniture to be sprayed and viewed from any angle, thus ensuring that every item ends up completely stained.
Hand Wiping Station
Once an individual piece is completely covered with stain, it is immediately moved to the hand wiping station. At the hand wiping station, furniture is wiped down so that the stain is applied as evenly as possible. Any droplets or build up is addressed at this stage.
An outside company removes the caked up rags used at the hand wiping station and replaces them with clean recycled ones.
On average, the stain has an open time of two to three minutes maximum. As a result, all hand wiping must be done very quickly and efficiency. There is real artistry and skill in this part of the process, which is essential in determining a beautiful final look and feel.
Hundreds of Stain and Color Options
There are hundreds of different types of colors and stains, which allow our customers to choose the exact look they want. We are more than happy to apply whichever stain and color you choose. You can see all the potential great choices here on our site!
Applying the Clear Coat
After applying the color from the first spray, we move on to applying a clear sealing coat. The reason we apply a clear sealing coat is to lock the wood off from moisture and protect it from oils or anything else that could comprise the quality of the furniture.
Next we use special tools to finely sand down the seal coat. This works to prep the grain and get it ready for the last step, which is the final clear coat. Before applying the final clear coat, we use compressed air to blast off the reside left on the furniture from the sanding process that just occurred. Finally, we apply an even coat to lock everything in and provide a beautiful sheen.
Once this process has been completed, it becomes a waiting game. Pieces are placed in a different part of the building and allowed to sit or dry on racks. After drying, all of our handmade furniture is reassembled and shipped to our customers.
A Recap of Our Detail-Oriented Seven Stage Finishing Process
There are Eight major steps in the finishing process. When a piece arrives, it is disassembled so that all areas can be sprayed. Next a prep sanding is performed to eliminate any minor scratches. Once the first two stages are complete, a solvent-based stain in the color of your choice is applied with a sprayer and immediately wiped so as to achieve a rich, beautiful and uniform appearance.
In the fourth stage, the piece is allowed to dry and we then apply a clear sealer. Once the piece is dried, it is hand sanded using an extra fine grit sandpaper and only then is the clear coat applied. Finally, the seventh and final step, we assemble the furniture and have it ready to ship to our satisfied customers.
The finishing process used on all of our hand-crafted Amish furniture pieces is designed to bring out the natural beauty of your solid wood furniture as well as be durable enough to withstand the rigors of daily use.
As you can see, the staining process is much like the process of building our Amish furniture in the first place. We take a great deal of care in creating our furniture and in staining it. The end result is extremely beautiful, durable and timeless furniture that will look and work great for many, many years to come.
Now, Part 2 details the first spray over furniture, shows you a few safety devices the shop has in place, and explains how Amish employees ensure a smooth quality of stain.
The third and final part of our video series on our finishing process has arrived. So far, we have visited the Amish staining shop in Wakarusa, Indiana, where workers disassemble and prepare furniture. In Part 2, we watched the first spray and viewed a few safety devices in the shop. Finally, we are ready to show the final clear coats.
Notice how I said, “clear coats,” not “clear coat.” Amish shop workers in safety masks take each freshly stained piece and apply a clear sealing coat to protect both the wood and the stain from things like moisture. They gently sand this coat to make it smooth, then blast off the dust with compressed air to get ready for the final coat. The final clear coat adds more protection and also gives the hardwood furniture a beautiful sheen. After these pieces dry, workers reassemble them into perfectly stained furniture. Finally, we ship them to eager customers.
As you can see, the care given to the finishing process is just as important as the care given to the building process and will insure that you receive a beautiful item of furniture with a durable finish in your choice of color to enjoy for years to come.
Thank you for watching our video series on our three-day finishing process. If you have any questions, feel free to connect in the comments, on social media, or by calling or emailing us.