Secondary Prep for Log Home Staining | Remove Fuzzy Wood

What is secondary prep? After you’ve gotten down to clean sound wood it’s time to clean up all that media blasting another methods left behind. When properly done, most blasting methods are going to create at least some “felting” — wood fuzz — that should be removed prior to applying any finishing products. All of that wood fuzz will eventually fall off. If there’s stain that is applied to that wood fuzz, it will simply fall off with the fuzz, leaving a mottled look and leaving those areas exposed to the elements. In addition, sometimes blasting can raise the grain a bit too much and make the wood more coarse than most like it. While the coarse texture is good for stain adhesion, it makes for a rougher look and darker stain, neither of which is aesthetically pleasing.

After media blasting, secondary prep is necessary to remove any “felting” or wood fuzz.  Removing it will ensure that the stain adheres to sound wood.

The best tools to use to remove this felting and make the texture a bit smoother are Osborn® brushes or Sashco’s Buffy Pad system, both of which attach to a variable speed grinder. Of course, random orbital sanders with 60- or 80-grit sandpaper will work, but will be more time consuming and don’t always do as good a job.

Sashco’s Buffy Pad system.

Osborn Brush application.

Another thing to keep in mind: when using Sashco’s Colorfast, the need for secondary prep may not be necessary. Definitely get rid of any fuzzing, but if no fuzzing is present and the texture is acceptable, apply Colorfast and avoid getting a too-dark color. If the texture is still too rough for your tastes, get those tools out and be ready to sweat a bit.

Don’t forget to check out our video showing secondary prep below. 

Happy prepping!