Treating New Wood With Methylated Spirits

[pinkerton]

I bought a tin of extra durable woodstain to stain a hardwood rainbar to fit to my front door. The preparation instructions say to wipe down new or bare wood with methylated spirits prior to staining. Does anybody out there know what purpose this might serve?

[Old_Jim]

It removes any grease. If you don't clean it first, you'll get pale fingerprints in the stain.

[heathfield]

Besides being a way of making sure there's no dust on the wood before applying a varnish, paint, or woodstain, methylated spirits will remove any resin present on the wood which otherwise may eventually result in a less than perfect finish.