It always amazes me the amount of saw dust you get just from sanding the top down.
After I have sanded the top with a power orbiting sander, I use two more steps of sand paper with a block sander. That’s right, good old manual labor, but the results are incredible. This takes out all the little imperfections and makes it nice and smooth and even.
After I have cleaned the saw dust off the bar, it’s time to start the stain. I have to start on the inside. So, to protect the top from my boots, I use a drop cloth. Ready, set, go.
And just like that, you have a stained top. This is when all the hard work pays off. I will let this dry for a couple days and then I will have to go back over the top to color match all the boards.
Right now it looks pretty good. It does not look like I will have a lot of color matching to do.
There you can see the color better from the sun light. Yes, it’s red, but it gets more of a brown color as you add varnish.
Jack