Staining a Drumshell with Aniline Dye Stain
 

When you finish a drum with a dye stain it is very important to properly prepare the shell. Because you will see the grain of the wood (this is why they are called transparent stains), the grain of the wood from drum to drum must be as consistent as possible.

Sand the shell with 180 or 220 grit sandpaper in the direction of the grain. Do not use a sandpaper finer than this, because you want the wood surface to be open enough to accept the stain. A common mistake is to sand the raw wood too smoothly. This closes the pores of the wood, and the stain color will be dull. Do not use an orbital sander for this step! Unless you are really good with an orbital sander, you will end up with ugly swirl marks that the stain will make painfully obvious.

For hand sanding aficionados, we suggest you get this nifty hand pad sold by Woodworker's Supply. Order #113-747 - this is the flexible 1/8" thick pad for use with 5 inch diameter hook and loop discs. If you want to spend your time doing more interesting things, get an "inline" or "straight line" sander that is powered by electricity or air.

Take special care to sand the outer seam area well. There is sometimes glue residue near the seam that will not allow stain to penetrate the wood. This will result in lighter, discolored blotches.

Flood the surface of the shell with stain using a foam brush. The beauty of working with water soluble stains is that they are very forgiving. All you have to do is flood the surface with stain and wipe it off. You will want to wait 30 to 90 seconds before wiping the stain off, during which time you need to keep the shell "wet" looking all the way around. This will give you a richer color. Please look for our tutorial on using aniline dye stains. Please take a moment to read it.

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