Make a Dip-Tank for Repetitive Staining of Woodwork

You may never find the need to make a dip-tank for staining woodwork, but if and when you do, here is one way to improvise.

Find a discarded fluorescent light fixture -- the longer the better. It will make a handy container.

Remove the cover. Rip out the guts. Save the box. It will be full of holes. Cover these over from the inside with duct tape. Line the inside with heavy plastic film for leakproofing (be sure the materials you will be using are compatible with plastic). Secure the film in place with more duct tape.

Jury-rig a simple scaffold at working height. Here, a scrap piece of drywall was fastened to an outside corner. One end of the tank rests on the drywall edge, and a stepladder supports the other. A heavy toolbox serves as a counter weight to keep the ladder balanced.

Dip-staining can make a room look like a war-zone. Make an effort to protect primed walls by hanging up more poly or some drop sheets if you feel the need.

After a few seconds of soaking in the tank, move the stick to a pan and stand it upright to drain.

The pan collects the run-off.

Were this in some residential basement or garage -- where the floor is likely to remain au naturel -- you would want to mask and protect the floor. This one will be carpeted, so no need for compulsive neatness.

Some flooring installers claim that a stain will (eventually) bleed through new flooring due to interaction with the flooring adhesive. I can't comment on the validity of this, since vinyl flooring installation is not my area of expertise. Still, it won't hurt to cover the floor in those instances where vinyl flooring is expected to be installed.

Pick up the run-off with a turkey baster from time to time and squirt it back into the dip tank. Keep an eye on the viscosity. The content is subject to evaporation, so add diluant to the tank as needed.

Liberties can be taken on new construction or renos with regard to masking, protecting flooring, etc. This concrete floor got a hearty workout.

The pan is the inverted lid of this storage box. Use what you have.

Look! There's another little outcropping of sticks lurking behind that red and black thing. There's no end!

This type of redundant production work is tedious. You start to feel like a cog. But there is something good to be said about that. You get a lot done!

Ford found that by giving someone a single task (rather than having a single person do several tasks), much could be gained in productivity. Hence the birth of the production line.

Adjust the working length of the tray (and therefore the holding volume) according to the work-piece lengths. Paints or stains will need to be thinned for good coverage and flow.

The tank will need a surprising volume of [stain] to bring it to a working level. Don't consider this method unless you have a daunting number of items to stain. It isn't practical for a mere handful of items.

Forget about using an acrylic urethane bath as a finishing method. The clear coat finish will dry before properly draining off, creating runs and sags and general mayhem.

I seldom use oil-based urethanes because of the fumes, but would expect reasonable results when dipping with these materials because of their extended drying time -- typically measured in hours rather than minutes. Alkyd-oil type materials will sometimes dissolve plastics though, so test first to avoid a problem.