Neutrals are tones and shades that have little or no color, in the strictest sense.
Includes white, off-white, black, gray, taupe and very light tans and browns.

Taupe or Gray with White or Darker Trim Makes a Simple but Elegant Color Scheme. Click on the image above to enlarge.

Q&A

Q: From time to time we have to do staining. With both interior and exterior staining, we sometimes have problems with unevenness like splotchiness, lapping, and spots. What tips do you have to get a uniform appearance?

A: For exterior work, uniformity of color can be a challenge, especially for brushed-on semi-trans stains. For a given job, take care to do an area at a time that is not too large. Doing too large an area can result in lapping because the first application may dry too much, so it is not re-dispersed when you return for the lap. In deciding how large an area to do, be conscious of factors that impact drying rate, including porosity and condition of the wood, humidity, temperature and air movement. Avoid staining in bright, direct sunshine. Sand burnished, shiny or mill-glazed wood.

For interior work, take the following into account:

• Stains can vary in penetration in that porous areas, especially end grain, can stain darker than denser nearby areas; gel stains tend to color more evenly than liquid stains; water-based stains benefit from application first of a pre-stain conditioner.
• Light spots that are permanent can result from drips of moisture that get on the surface while staining, even if they are wiped off immediately. Wear an absorptive sweat band while doing work in hot weather, and watch out for drips from cold beverage cans. Also, trying to do touch-up before the initial application has dried can result in a light area even though more stain is being applied. The solvent in the re-applied stain extracts pigment from the wood… so, for touch-up, allow the stain to dry overnight.
• How smooth and sealed, or how porous the wood is, determines in part, how much stain is absorbed and thus how dark the effect is. For a given piece of wood, steel-wooling the surface will reduce absorption, and a light sanding will increase it. And significant differences can result, depending whether you use 400, 220 or 120 grit sandpaper. Coarser, lower-number grits will provide more stain absorption. In any case, be sure to do the surface the same way throughout. Always sand in the direction of the wood grain.