Raising Wood Grain with Water

It is a good idea to raise the wood grain of your projects by spraying them with water. This helps achieve a smoother finish surface, because the moisture in finishes can raise the grain of the wood. By raising it with water beforehand and sanding it down, the finish does not raise the grain as much.

[pi]

THANK YOU! I've spent the last hour trying to research why my woodwork was rough after staining. As a beginner, I had no idea what I did wrong and thought maybe I applied the stain incorrectly. Read something about raising woodgrain and searched why to do it, and found this video and my answer. Massive thank you

[GiantGopherNutz]

I have no interest or desire to get into woodworking but I was still totally involved in this video because you’re so knowledgeable and concise with the info

[brasha]

Mini water pop videos out there, but one of those subjects that you have to have subliminally or directly come up in other content and I think by far yours is the best you briefly talk about it you show a time lapse of the water drying and then you sand it so many others want to showwater and a piece of tape and then all of a sudden applying stain and bam there’s the difference but I think a lot of them are missing just that Segway of letting it dry sanding it lightly and then coming back with the stain. Thank you for an awesome video.

[otagoaerial]

Thank you, exactly what I was looking to have demonstrated.

[beckykirchner]

Hi Bob. Great content for us garage warriors! Question...do you suggest raising the grain before or after staining? You mention before topcoat, but I'm wondering if it should be done before stain as well.

[waynethebarber]

Great video! I just bought a teak cutting board and damp wiped it off and let it dry and it raised the grain. I tried to contact the company that I bought it from and they said contact the manufacturer. You've given me the fix to my problem. I might just give it another damp wipe to see if any more grain comes up then sand it down and then oil it with food grade mineral oil. Thanks for your time that you put in your videos....

[NOZZASLOADEDED]

Badabing badaboom, great video, thank you for the concise tutorial!

[eswift]

A short and to the point lesson. Thank you. Does denatured alcohol have any advantage other than drying faster?

[charleyweinhardt]

Definitely worth doing! Raise the grain with water and knock it off, otherwise the polyurethane will raise it up and you'll be stuck with it. Either way you'll be raising the grain

[readingcraze]

What paint we should use to get smooth surface after painting?

[curtisstrauss]

Hi Bob, if you did this process and then waited some time (say a few weeks to a month) before staining, does the time delay cause any affect in the raised grain? Curious to know if you have experimented with this. Asking for a production environment where wood is built and staining is done later. Thanks.

[proudcanadianeh]

Do I needa do this for maple or cherry cutting boards, or its mainly walnut? Because I notice walnut is fuzziest, thanks!

[shadi]

question can or should you do this multiple times ( will it be beneficial or is it necessary )

[CaLbob]

Great tip. Would it be okay to dry the moisture with a heat gun on low heat after wetting the wood to be able to sand quicker?

[glenncanning]

Is this necessary before applying spray lacquer, or only for water based finishes?

[SirNeikter]

I have a question. Is there any point doing this if I'm going to paint the wood? Thank you in advance! Cheers!

[eetulaukkanen]

Can you do that afterwards? :D I didnt do watering before waterbased TOPOIL my table top. Now table top is a bit rough and stained.

[stavybananasify]

I did this with an end grain board and it warped like crazy. Im using linseed oil and beeswax as the finish, is it necessary?

[fogsmart]

Funny that the advice changes with each video I see: some say wipe water off right away, some use different grits for sanding, some say used distilled water and so it goes

[makethingswithrob]

Hey Bob, do you mind if I sample part of your video? I'd like to explain raising the grain in a video.