Elegant Entry Divider - Wood Tools

GLUE SMUDGES
On a recent project, an ugly glue smudge appeared as I applied the stain.
Is there a good way remoue the smudge while the stain is still wet? Or
do I haue to let it dry, sand the project, and restain the entire thing? What
can I do to preuenthis from happening
the Juture?
Dauid Johnson
Raymond, ME
A dried glue smudge won't ollow stoin or finish
to penehote the surfoce of the wood. Fortunotely,
there's on eosy fix to this dilemmo if you oct fost.
If you notice stain not
"taking" in a particular spot,
the key is to address the
problem quickly before the stain sets.
Quick Fix - After wiping the
smudged area (Fig. 1),take a scraper
and rake it gently over the area to
remove glue residue (Fig.2) Ifyou're
working in a tight space, then use a
sharp chisel to scrape the wood fibers.
Just hold the chisel with the bevel
facing away from you, and gendy pull
it toward you.
After scraping, use 180-grit sandpaper
to sand the area.Then, gently
sand a small portion of the stained
wood around that area.This creates
a seam]ess transition berween stained
and unstained wood, so any color
diferences won't be noticeable (Flg.
j ). Finally,carefully wipe away dust,
and continue applying stain (Fig.4).
Prevention - To prevent this
from happening in the future, try
dry-assembling the prqect 6rst, and
then taping off any areas where
squeeze-out may occur before gluing
it up.Another tip is to rub the project
down with mineral spirits and check
it with a light before staining it.This
will make clear any areas where
finish might not take. And finally,
alwayscrape glue squeeze-out first,
then sand, before you staln.
First, remove os much of the wet stoin from the
wood os possible with o cleon rog.
Next, use o scroper to remove the glue
residue, scroping down to bore wood.
Et
EJ
I
Hond-sond the spot, ond olso gently sond the
stoined oreo oround it for o seomless tronsition.
After wiping owoy dust, resume opplying stoin
to the project for o flowless, smudge-free finish.
22 woRKBENCH Et FEBRUARY 2005