It doesnt look like it from the red oak samples. The color Early American in general reminds me of the Provincial stain color, although with a little more warmth in it.
Thank you for your help, creativity, time and amazing design inspiration. I think my blocks got mixed up on this picture from left to right you have: select pine, poplar, red oak, and then the common pine. You might need a little help searching, huh? Instead of the wood grains picking up redness, you can see they all went a very neutral brown. White Oak cant take a bad picture. Sanding makes a. Thanks for doing this, it really is beneficial! That is bland. Brilliant- thank you for doing the work . And how long did you let the stain sit before wiping it off? Thank you. The first of the dark stains we tried was also the more neutral in tone. We put in red oak because our flooring guy had a bunch of it and we got a good deal. Your email address will not be published. As a reminder, these are just brushed on with a foam brush and then left alone. Your stain study was most helpful. Its important to know what undertones your wood has, because those will often become even more noticeable when you add stain. Great post & great blog!! I prefer Red Oak. The first one is Minwax Wood Finish Penetrating Wood Stain that you mention in your article. We hope this guide helps you pick the right stain (or none at all) for your next project! I dont have any experience with this, but Ive heard rubbing the darker areas with acetone can help even it out. I found one of the photos through a google search but a whole S load of spam sites had the photo. I dont think it will work as well over stain, since it reacts with the wood itself), but it may help. Would it be too white going that route? That being said, I do love pine in those middle shades. Dont forget to thoroughly sand.
this post has disappeared. The wood is extremely dry. I love DIY and furniture painting, but never did staining before. The can shows how the accelerator will look on both pine and red oak, and I found that those two were the ones I tended to like them on the most! Thats why today, Im sharing a guide I put together that showcases photos from the projects weve made over the years in different settings, with different stains, and using different wood species. I may do something with some blue glaze to help neutralize the yellow but well see. With stain, more layers likely wouldnt help because the wood is still supposed to come through. Like I said, I wish we could do 15 more of these! Of course you didnt do the two stains Ive been wondering about (Provincial and Driftwood) but still ;-) Guess I will have to do my own small test for the stained shelves Im installing in our wall nook. I bought silver-toned door hardware for the painting gray side and antique brass for the side I want to stain. Thank you! I'm Amanda, and I live in the suburbs of Austin, Texas with my husband and two sons. haha. Dang- wish I had seen/used your wood stain tips! I only want to create more pieces, just so I can stain them, haha! The top flat surfaces were a disaster, but the legs cleaned up just fine and have a lovely patina. How many coats of stain did you do on the samples?
I had such a challenge finding a color that worked with the trim, floor, and lighting in the roomuntil I saw a photo in a paint catalog of a room with a trim color and lighting similar to my bedroom. Do you think Provincial banister and spindles will look right with Dark Walnut stairs and floors? 4. This coat hanger was made from an old pallet, so Im unsure of the species, but it was definitely darker than the white wood I purchase from Dunn Lumber, which leads me to believe its Doug fir. Thank you SO much for doing this! Would the stain obscure more of the grain if left on more than 2 minutes? 5. It is an elusive stain!! Thank You! We applied it then wiped it off after about 2 minutes. Thank you! Yes, the harder (denser) the wood, like yellow or white birch or maple, oak, the more difficult it is to accept stains where you want darker results. Be sure to check out this blog post for lots of tips, and if you still need help drop your question in the comments below!
Loved seeing all the side by side comparisons. The wood types we chose also are vastly different, ranging from extremely soft (birch) to hard (red oak) with undertones all over the map. I am sanding a 18C vanity unit that is Chestnut. Thanks for this post. Same. If this is a potential series, Id love more in depth on layering stains and working with Gel Stains as that is surprisingly easy to do but provides very next level results. My favorite black paint is Limousine Leather by Behr! Sign up below! It brings out a really right brown color, and you can see the natural undertones of each of the wood species peeking through (yellow on the pines, green on the poplar, and red on the oak). Very helpful post! I should add, I did solid cherry butcher block countertops, kitchen cabinets painted Repose Gray (as are all walls and trim). Im going to try the simply white on white oak. By the way, that article mentions Minwax Stain also. Or a sort of gray stain that would really cut the yellow could work! The information I came to the comments looking for! I really like the Jacobean, yet what light stain would you suggest as contrast? i want to try the white after sadning but i think ill do the walnut to match my dark floors and grey corrian counters. You want some contrasts. You could even paint it a contrasting color! Right now. )maybe minwax will give you another opportunity! Which stain on which wood do you think is closest to West Elms pecan, like the pecan legs of their Drake sofa? I would like to figure out a way to make them look the same but really dont like the pink red undertone . And Red Oak should probably stay away from things that add even more red to it (like Pickled Oak and Golden Pecan).
In that picture, the last two look much darker. You guys did a fantastic job with this. For the Homebody in everybody, ProperTee is our line of cozy/cool apparel, branded with odes to staying in and celebrating the indoors. But with limited resources (not to mention space), we settled on 5 popular species of wood commonly used by DIYers, with 6 different stains; 2 light, 2 medium and 2 dark. Bravo! The pine turned more gray than anything. Varathanes Golden Oak is a warmer version of Varthanes Early American. Im having white cabinets/white granite with greyish Island, and butcher block counters and white windows. Is there yellow pine and white pine? Thank you so much for this article. Thanks! ???? Thanks for sharing. Thanks for pulling this together! Love your post! I appreciate any thoughts on this. Hi, I have sanded an old pine dresser that was coated years ago in an orangy shellac. I will definitely refer back to this in the future. Have a green thumb but nowhere to flex it? I just wanted to say thank you so much for taking the time to do this. We did a very light sanding and did stain these inside. I loved this. :). Thanks for this post! Dalys is a less well-known stain brand to me, partly due to a misconception that their stain was less pigmented.
Thanks for doing this experiment and sharing!
You can see that the Minwax Dark Walnut color is more intense than the Varathane version. They look too orangey for my liking which I find happens frequently with stains and now wonder if I can go over them in a neutral darker stain but it will be a major mess, time commitment and height bravery (as they are on high parts of our house). We did provincial stain lightened 50%. Were in a rental so were stuck with the very dark mahogany cabinets with brushed silver hardware. Thanks, all! I am mid-century-modern by design and a touch of industrial (the concrete floor). Everything turns red! We especially recommend that on a project like this, that takes so long to do and has a very prominent visual presence in your home. It got its name from being used on teak ship decks. Thanks for this post! At first I was planning on pine because its cheaperjust not sure which stain to usethen I thought I would spend a little more and get red oaknow I have come here and Im not sure if I want poplar, white oak, or red oak. Thank you so, so much for this exercise. Would you recommend a black paint color in a matte finish instead? In addition to being beautiful, Ingrid is really durable we have three kids, and we always have a home construction project going on. Whitewood sometimes got blotchy (again, thats likely to do with the quality of the wood), and poplar looked great but its just not my favorite wood to work with so I tend to favor the others more. And yes, the prestain saves the day on birch. Using on pallet wood, probably pine as yellow seems prominent. Could you please help me choose the right one? Thank you for doing this! Im nervous I wont like how it turns out. I used Minwax Pickled Oak and it turned out gorgeous, for a first attempt. Oh man, where was this post in the summer when I got new floors?!
Im so sad I was using this for reference. And, to add in a whole other factor, stains change depending on the wood youre staining. Looking at the photos above, some pretty clear patterns emerge for me. That would be a lot of work but our house is small so its doable. Hopefully Ill be able to decide if this is something I want to tackle. Thank you We recently moved to Texas and I need to darken my oak furniture. Isnt that going to make staining tricky as shown with this post, different woods take on different looks? Your email address will not be published. :).
Im not crazy about the idea of a huge sanding project. My one tip to anyone doing their own floors is sand everything evenly we had a couple spots that we didnt sand as consistently and those areas took the stain much darker than the rest of the floor.
I want to thank you for your testing it was just what I needed. It should! Im going to need approximately 20 Bd. lighten, darken, turn redder, etc.)?
This DIY vertical planter is the perfect solution for small-space dwellers looking to grow a garden. Every wood species benefitted greatly from the conditioner with this stain. Without being in the space we cant really say, but one thing I would do is find a piece of red oak that matches the finish of your banister etc.
Im surprised how subtle simply white was on oak, less painted white looking than I expected. They were applied and excess removed within about 3 minutes. Same with hinges. You could definitely go with black paint instead! I have red oak floor that we are considering staining to become a medium brown like yours! :). The below image demonstrates what I mean. My first go around I noticed an embarrassing amount of blotching from the stain. Brand- Minwax stains actually have less pigment in them compared to others like Mohawk, etc. I have most of my new doors (they were about a $100 a piece, so they are poplar I guess, maybe birch) painted repose Gray on one side, but the other side I want to stain. Varathane Espresso is one of the darkest stain options and therefore shows up pretty similarly on various types of wood. There are (obviously) about a zillion more stain colors out there, but the goal with this post is to help you see that different wood species will accept stain very differently, and its important to take that into consideration when youre making decisions for your projects! I have several yellow and knotty pine (I think?) And I thought the pickled looked good on red oak you didnt?!
I would like to see an experiment in reducing contrastboth grain and defects, such as nail holes and gapsto produce an attractive even dark tone. If youre not having success with home improvement store products to get the color youre after, paying just a bit more for a different brand can really help (or vice versa if youre wondering why a different brand is giving much darker color). I wanted a grayish brown. Thank you on behalf of users all over whove seen this and appreciate that you did a sample of all the stains. I've taught myself how to make simple updates to help make my house a home, and I want to show you how to do it, too. Thanks so much for any insight you might have! Great job. Its interesting because on White Oak, in our experience, the color is much lighter than what is shown in your post. (Then wash with 1/4 vinegar/water and lightly sand.) Doing an oil based poly over them vs a water based. I also tried with and without conditioner, which didnt seem to make much difference with the darker samples.
The desktop succulent planter is made from Doug fir, while the pencil holder, dog bed, mini succulent planters, and end table are all made with various white woods (spruce, pine, or fir). They look incredible. Had I known that I wouldve picked red oak again for my kitchen although its not my preference. This just confirms my hatred for oak. Need your advice. Any help would be appreciated. #cljfam #cljtransformations, https://woodimprove.com/best-wood-stains/#product1, http://www.hardwoodinfo.com/consumer/rediscovering-hardwoods/types-of-wood/, Casual Friday: Pollys Sleeping, Eating and Schedule at 6 Months old, The start of our container garden and All the Best Planters, A Full Guide on Picture Lights + A Round-Up, The New Vanity in the Bathroom! Im curious of a recipe for red oak to match white oak. I think some people just dont care about that sort of thing! Next up, lets take a look at the wood accelerators. Thank you! }); As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I was surprised how much I liked the poplar in the white stain, I would never have thought to try that, but it really calms down the purples and greens that poplar has, without making it look dull and boring.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Thank you for conducting this experiment! This really helped me determine the piece I am working on is red oak! The pine to me looked very different from my own experience. Ill be 75 in January and am in the process of making my last big project a daybed that will eventually be used as my casket. You dont need to wipe off the excess, you dont need to apply a second coat. Maybe it was lighting. Guys this is SUPER helpful! Originally, the old doors, were all maple and at one point in the 80s, my mom had the door facing the living area painted along with along with a lot of of solid-wood paneling. Thank you. When I planned to use this stain again, I was expecting a similar result, but applying it to a buffet table made from spruce and various other white woods resulted in a very intense, golden-orange color. What do you think!?
Where is the charred wood accelerator shown in the first picture. Think of all trim and stair parts as furniture. From left to right, youll see: common pine, select pine, poplar, and red oak. The use of this site is an acceptance of the Dunn Lumber Terms and Conditions. Where with pine (except heart pine), its softness accepts stain quickly and often unevenly, which is why conditioner is so important to use before staining many softwoods. Is there anything that can lighten the darker/black areas before the polyurethane is put on top? Very helpful. Hi Maria! My red oak banister, spindles, stairs and floors are currently stained Provincial. Im sure you have saved many of us from buying the wrong stain/wood combination for a project. Its well-named, because the color has warmth that reminds me of evening sunlight in the summer (as shown on this wine rack). And though it might look even color toned, I would attribute that more to the editing of the photo.
Youll also notice that whitewood (the one on the left and the cheapest wood) occasionally gets a somewhat splotchy finish. I am not crazy about the stain as it is leaving a green patina where the darker parts of the wood is. Hi Julia & Chris. Minwax Pickled Oak. What color stain would you use to achieve a blonde look with Douglas fir? Any thoughts on how I can approach staining them without making it a thesis project? Your post was the clincher. Some refinished do not sand super smooth (finishing below 220) for this reason, and instead use top coats to gain smoothness. !function(d,s,id){var e, p = /^http:/.test(d.location) ? Poplar and red oak both have strong undertones that can affect the coloring of the stain, so its something to keep in mind if youre working with either of those! Theyre not bad and look nice but not my color of choice. I love how classic / timeless it looks butthat white oak with Simply White stain definitely gives me the heart eyes. Extremely helpful!! What can be mixed with #2716 Dk Walnut penetrating stain, to bring out a touch of red. Teak oil is generally an exterior wood finish that both oils the wood and creates a protective barrier at the same time. But I wanted to include some inspiration for not staining in case you havent given that a thought. It was so beautiful and I momentarily thought OUR STUDY COULD BE A FORMAL DINING ROOM. Weve been wanting to do a wood/stain study for years now and in my head, I wanted to doeverytype of wood with about 20 different stains each. You should really check out Invisble by Loba. LOL. Thank you for posting this! Your illustrations were fantastic and saved me from making a huge mistake. Also keep in mind it will look different when it dries, so go easy. Minwax is always my go-to for wood staining, Ive been using it for almost 20 years now. I have debating about what the difference a primer or conditioner will make, this was a big help!
I am sure it has something to do with the particular piece of wood. I personally like the look of really light-colored wood, so often, all I want is a coat of a clear finish. This is the type of post I love since I learn from it and wouldnt want to put the $ into it myself. Ive always read that you should use the pre-stain conditioner, but never really believed the hype. Its a beautiful medium shade that doesnt read yellow at all. Seriously SO HELPFUL!!! Lastly, we thought it would be beneficial to see all the same wood type with different stains in one picture.
Youd think MinWax would have this on their website. I had never used a pre-stain conditioner and also wanted to see the denefit of doing so. I am literally holding off on my cedar plank wall project until I can find a freaking can of it somewhere in the universe lol. I let it sit for about 5-10 minutes. We came to picked Oak after looking into wax-based finishes (Bona, etc.) The blanket ladder is built with white wood (spruce, pine, or fir), and the bath/breakfast tray is made from hemlock. We refinished and extended our original hardwood floors and there were gross dark stains on the original floors which didnt sand out. which one you will prefer ? and loving the color but they are not very easy to maintain in family homes. Joining our weekly newsletter gives you access to exclusive content, never-before-seen photos, your questions answered, and our favorite DIYs. The green in the Poplar board went to an almost black, like in the Jacobean stainvery stunning. This is one of my favorite posts I have ever read ! I wanted a cool brown with gray undertones, but every stain with gray in the title was just straight-up gray. We tested a few for ourselves but this is helping me to find some direction in what to try next. Really appreciated it you could totally make a series out of it! Minwax recently came out with a Simply White stain and Im in love with it! None of the charts here state what kind of wood is being tested. Thank you for this helpful post! Exactly what I was looking for. And sure enough, thats the color on my bedroom walls today! Ive referred back to this so many times. I love the white oak with the simply white stain.
But I know that for me, when the wood Im using isnt shown in the sample, I dont really trust the samples anymorewhich is why purchasing a ketchup-packet-sized stain sample to take home and try out on a scrap piece can be a great option. If nothing else, looking through our list may help you identify what elements of a stain you like and dont like. Probably, but youd likely need a combo of stains and Im not sure what that combo would be. Have you found one color stain that makes them similar? So thorough. The poly also added some splotchiness to the finish. Ive got you covered! and test out the stain first. Any cherry or red furniture I bleach before doing all the other steps. Wow! The floors were sanded and then stained with Minwax Provincial.
But then there is the world of bleaching! The red oak brr nightmares of 1980s cabinets and heart cutout furniture. It dries quick and doesnt yellow! simply the best thing Ive seen on how various stains work on various woods Thank you for doing this. Sent it to my boyfriend Im the researcher in this love. For this particular experiment, I stuck to just wood that can easily be found at your local big box hardware store no specialty wood here. Also, professional pros (the ones who take their time to listen to you and do the job right) always water-pop the wood when using dark stains. Why would they do that and not stick with white oak??? I built a queen sized farmhouse bed a YEAR ago this month and I have yet to gain the courage to actually stain and finish it, fearing Ill hate it after I screw it up with an ugly stain color or horrible application of it. Ft. of 4/4 and 10 Bd. THANK YOU so much for this! I want a matt black stain with no shine at all. We are in the process of refinishing old pine floors. Very interesting! 
And I didnt realize how much I loved birch and poplar before this! looking to refinish our hardwood floors. These are such a fantastic option for anyone who is nervous about trying out stain and wants to get their feet wet. Although, no red came through with the pine at all. yes! Plus, a Bathroom Vanity Round-Up, Inspiration For The Upstairs Laundry Room, Spotting Our Loloi Rugs in the Wild: Part 2, Deciding On a Paint Color For the Wainscoting in the Study. Dunn Lumber and its partners cannot and do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information, materials, or advice on dunndiy.com. Same color, different brand. And of course it is orange once again. This is a great post and helped me decide which stain to use on the twin bed my husband is making for our son! Great post idea. Id love more in-depth stain experiments. I did not edit the lighting or colors in any way. This post was super interesting! Tough to know! This post saved sooooo much of my time! I just sent them an example photo of something I like, but didnt specify a stain. For example, a couple years ago, I was picking a paint color for my bedroom. When designing a project to put in your homeor refinishing a piece of furnitureit can be incredibly difficult to visualize and pick out the perfect stain color. Cabot makes a good one, and you can get it from Lowes.
THANK YOU!!!! The other three projects (the display case shelf, desktop organizer,andairplane swing) that are stained in Provincial are white wood or SPFa mixture of spruce, pine, and fir. On the left half, I used Watcos Lacquer in Matte, and on the top right is the unfinished wood. I loved this post so much! To me, Gunstockis another good middle-of-the-road stain. Thank for doing this! Im not sure how (or if it is even possible) to achieve the color I want. Minwax Dark Walnut. This was incredibly helpful! Going to bookmark it or future reference. I have a rustic oak console with knots and grain-finished in a medium matte stain. When working with maple or birch, you usually leave the stain on longer to achieve a darker result. Thanks so much for putting this together.
Thank you for your help, creativity, time and amazing design inspiration. I think my blocks got mixed up on this picture from left to right you have: select pine, poplar, red oak, and then the common pine. You might need a little help searching, huh? Instead of the wood grains picking up redness, you can see they all went a very neutral brown. White Oak cant take a bad picture. Sanding makes a. Thanks for doing this, it really is beneficial! That is bland. Brilliant- thank you for doing the work . And how long did you let the stain sit before wiping it off? Thank you. The first of the dark stains we tried was also the more neutral in tone. We put in red oak because our flooring guy had a bunch of it and we got a good deal. Your email address will not be published. As a reminder, these are just brushed on with a foam brush and then left alone. Your stain study was most helpful. Its important to know what undertones your wood has, because those will often become even more noticeable when you add stain. Great post & great blog!! I prefer Red Oak. The first one is Minwax Wood Finish Penetrating Wood Stain that you mention in your article. We hope this guide helps you pick the right stain (or none at all) for your next project! I dont have any experience with this, but Ive heard rubbing the darker areas with acetone can help even it out. I found one of the photos through a google search but a whole S load of spam sites had the photo. I dont think it will work as well over stain, since it reacts with the wood itself), but it may help. Would it be too white going that route? That being said, I do love pine in those middle shades. Dont forget to thoroughly sand.
this post has disappeared. The wood is extremely dry. I love DIY and furniture painting, but never did staining before. The can shows how the accelerator will look on both pine and red oak, and I found that those two were the ones I tended to like them on the most! Thats why today, Im sharing a guide I put together that showcases photos from the projects weve made over the years in different settings, with different stains, and using different wood species. I may do something with some blue glaze to help neutralize the yellow but well see. With stain, more layers likely wouldnt help because the wood is still supposed to come through. Like I said, I wish we could do 15 more of these! Of course you didnt do the two stains Ive been wondering about (Provincial and Driftwood) but still ;-) Guess I will have to do my own small test for the stained shelves Im installing in our wall nook. I bought silver-toned door hardware for the painting gray side and antique brass for the side I want to stain. Thank you! I'm Amanda, and I live in the suburbs of Austin, Texas with my husband and two sons. haha. Dang- wish I had seen/used your wood stain tips! I only want to create more pieces, just so I can stain them, haha! The top flat surfaces were a disaster, but the legs cleaned up just fine and have a lovely patina. How many coats of stain did you do on the samples?
I had such a challenge finding a color that worked with the trim, floor, and lighting in the roomuntil I saw a photo in a paint catalog of a room with a trim color and lighting similar to my bedroom. Do you think Provincial banister and spindles will look right with Dark Walnut stairs and floors? 4. This coat hanger was made from an old pallet, so Im unsure of the species, but it was definitely darker than the white wood I purchase from Dunn Lumber, which leads me to believe its Doug fir. Thank you SO much for doing this! Would the stain obscure more of the grain if left on more than 2 minutes? 5. It is an elusive stain!! Thank You! We applied it then wiped it off after about 2 minutes. Thank you! Yes, the harder (denser) the wood, like yellow or white birch or maple, oak, the more difficult it is to accept stains where you want darker results. Be sure to check out this blog post for lots of tips, and if you still need help drop your question in the comments below!
Loved seeing all the side by side comparisons. The wood types we chose also are vastly different, ranging from extremely soft (birch) to hard (red oak) with undertones all over the map. I am sanding a 18C vanity unit that is Chestnut. Thanks for this post. Same. If this is a potential series, Id love more in depth on layering stains and working with Gel Stains as that is surprisingly easy to do but provides very next level results. My favorite black paint is Limousine Leather by Behr! Sign up below! It brings out a really right brown color, and you can see the natural undertones of each of the wood species peeking through (yellow on the pines, green on the poplar, and red on the oak). Very helpful post! I should add, I did solid cherry butcher block countertops, kitchen cabinets painted Repose Gray (as are all walls and trim). Im going to try the simply white on white oak. By the way, that article mentions Minwax Stain also. Or a sort of gray stain that would really cut the yellow could work! The information I came to the comments looking for! I really like the Jacobean, yet what light stain would you suggest as contrast? i want to try the white after sadning but i think ill do the walnut to match my dark floors and grey corrian counters. You want some contrasts. You could even paint it a contrasting color! Right now. )maybe minwax will give you another opportunity! Which stain on which wood do you think is closest to West Elms pecan, like the pecan legs of their Drake sofa? I would like to figure out a way to make them look the same but really dont like the pink red undertone . And Red Oak should probably stay away from things that add even more red to it (like Pickled Oak and Golden Pecan).
In that picture, the last two look much darker. You guys did a fantastic job with this. For the Homebody in everybody, ProperTee is our line of cozy/cool apparel, branded with odes to staying in and celebrating the indoors. But with limited resources (not to mention space), we settled on 5 popular species of wood commonly used by DIYers, with 6 different stains; 2 light, 2 medium and 2 dark. Bravo! The pine turned more gray than anything. Varathanes Golden Oak is a warmer version of Varthanes Early American. Im having white cabinets/white granite with greyish Island, and butcher block counters and white windows. Is there yellow pine and white pine? Thank you so much for this article. Thanks! ???? Thanks for sharing. Thanks for pulling this together! Love your post! I appreciate any thoughts on this. Hi, I have sanded an old pine dresser that was coated years ago in an orangy shellac. I will definitely refer back to this in the future. Have a green thumb but nowhere to flex it? I just wanted to say thank you so much for taking the time to do this. We did a very light sanding and did stain these inside. I loved this. :). Thanks for this post! Dalys is a less well-known stain brand to me, partly due to a misconception that their stain was less pigmented.
Thanks for doing this experiment and sharing! You can see that the Minwax Dark Walnut color is more intense than the Varathane version. They look too orangey for my liking which I find happens frequently with stains and now wonder if I can go over them in a neutral darker stain but it will be a major mess, time commitment and height bravery (as they are on high parts of our house). We did provincial stain lightened 50%. Were in a rental so were stuck with the very dark mahogany cabinets with brushed silver hardware. Thanks, all! I am mid-century-modern by design and a touch of industrial (the concrete floor). Everything turns red! We especially recommend that on a project like this, that takes so long to do and has a very prominent visual presence in your home. It got its name from being used on teak ship decks. Thanks for this post! At first I was planning on pine because its cheaperjust not sure which stain to usethen I thought I would spend a little more and get red oaknow I have come here and Im not sure if I want poplar, white oak, or red oak. Thank you so, so much for this exercise. Would you recommend a black paint color in a matte finish instead? In addition to being beautiful, Ingrid is really durable we have three kids, and we always have a home construction project going on. Whitewood sometimes got blotchy (again, thats likely to do with the quality of the wood), and poplar looked great but its just not my favorite wood to work with so I tend to favor the others more. And yes, the prestain saves the day on birch. Using on pallet wood, probably pine as yellow seems prominent. Could you please help me choose the right one? Thank you for doing this! Im nervous I wont like how it turns out. I used Minwax Pickled Oak and it turned out gorgeous, for a first attempt. Oh man, where was this post in the summer when I got new floors?!
Im so sad I was using this for reference. And, to add in a whole other factor, stains change depending on the wood youre staining. Looking at the photos above, some pretty clear patterns emerge for me. That would be a lot of work but our house is small so its doable. Hopefully Ill be able to decide if this is something I want to tackle. Thank you We recently moved to Texas and I need to darken my oak furniture. Isnt that going to make staining tricky as shown with this post, different woods take on different looks? Your email address will not be published. :).
Im not crazy about the idea of a huge sanding project. My one tip to anyone doing their own floors is sand everything evenly we had a couple spots that we didnt sand as consistently and those areas took the stain much darker than the rest of the floor.
I want to thank you for your testing it was just what I needed. It should! Im going to need approximately 20 Bd. lighten, darken, turn redder, etc.)?
This DIY vertical planter is the perfect solution for small-space dwellers looking to grow a garden. Every wood species benefitted greatly from the conditioner with this stain. Without being in the space we cant really say, but one thing I would do is find a piece of red oak that matches the finish of your banister etc.
Im surprised how subtle simply white was on oak, less painted white looking than I expected. They were applied and excess removed within about 3 minutes. Same with hinges. You could definitely go with black paint instead! I have red oak floor that we are considering staining to become a medium brown like yours! :). The below image demonstrates what I mean. My first go around I noticed an embarrassing amount of blotching from the stain. Brand- Minwax stains actually have less pigment in them compared to others like Mohawk, etc. I have most of my new doors (they were about a $100 a piece, so they are poplar I guess, maybe birch) painted repose Gray on one side, but the other side I want to stain. Varathane Espresso is one of the darkest stain options and therefore shows up pretty similarly on various types of wood. There are (obviously) about a zillion more stain colors out there, but the goal with this post is to help you see that different wood species will accept stain very differently, and its important to take that into consideration when youre making decisions for your projects! I have several yellow and knotty pine (I think?) And I thought the pickled looked good on red oak you didnt?!
I would like to see an experiment in reducing contrastboth grain and defects, such as nail holes and gapsto produce an attractive even dark tone. If youre not having success with home improvement store products to get the color youre after, paying just a bit more for a different brand can really help (or vice versa if youre wondering why a different brand is giving much darker color). I wanted a grayish brown. Thank you on behalf of users all over whove seen this and appreciate that you did a sample of all the stains. I've taught myself how to make simple updates to help make my house a home, and I want to show you how to do it, too. Thanks so much for any insight you might have! Great job. Its interesting because on White Oak, in our experience, the color is much lighter than what is shown in your post. (Then wash with 1/4 vinegar/water and lightly sand.) Doing an oil based poly over them vs a water based. I also tried with and without conditioner, which didnt seem to make much difference with the darker samples.
The desktop succulent planter is made from Doug fir, while the pencil holder, dog bed, mini succulent planters, and end table are all made with various white woods (spruce, pine, or fir). They look incredible. Had I known that I wouldve picked red oak again for my kitchen although its not my preference. This just confirms my hatred for oak. Need your advice. Any help would be appreciated. #cljfam #cljtransformations, https://woodimprove.com/best-wood-stains/#product1, http://www.hardwoodinfo.com/consumer/rediscovering-hardwoods/types-of-wood/, Casual Friday: Pollys Sleeping, Eating and Schedule at 6 Months old, The start of our container garden and All the Best Planters, A Full Guide on Picture Lights + A Round-Up, The New Vanity in the Bathroom! Im curious of a recipe for red oak to match white oak. I think some people just dont care about that sort of thing! Next up, lets take a look at the wood accelerators. Thank you! }); As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I was surprised how much I liked the poplar in the white stain, I would never have thought to try that, but it really calms down the purples and greens that poplar has, without making it look dull and boring.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Thank you for conducting this experiment! This really helped me determine the piece I am working on is red oak! The pine to me looked very different from my own experience. Ill be 75 in January and am in the process of making my last big project a daybed that will eventually be used as my casket. You dont need to wipe off the excess, you dont need to apply a second coat. Maybe it was lighting. Guys this is SUPER helpful! Originally, the old doors, were all maple and at one point in the 80s, my mom had the door facing the living area painted along with along with a lot of of solid-wood paneling. Thank you. When I planned to use this stain again, I was expecting a similar result, but applying it to a buffet table made from spruce and various other white woods resulted in a very intense, golden-orange color. What do you think!?
Where is the charred wood accelerator shown in the first picture. Think of all trim and stair parts as furniture. From left to right, youll see: common pine, select pine, poplar, and red oak. The use of this site is an acceptance of the Dunn Lumber Terms and Conditions. Where with pine (except heart pine), its softness accepts stain quickly and often unevenly, which is why conditioner is so important to use before staining many softwoods. Is there anything that can lighten the darker/black areas before the polyurethane is put on top? Very helpful. Hi Maria! My red oak banister, spindles, stairs and floors are currently stained Provincial. Im sure you have saved many of us from buying the wrong stain/wood combination for a project. Its well-named, because the color has warmth that reminds me of evening sunlight in the summer (as shown on this wine rack). And though it might look even color toned, I would attribute that more to the editing of the photo.
Youll also notice that whitewood (the one on the left and the cheapest wood) occasionally gets a somewhat splotchy finish. I am not crazy about the stain as it is leaving a green patina where the darker parts of the wood is. Hi Julia & Chris. Minwax Pickled Oak. What color stain would you use to achieve a blonde look with Douglas fir? Any thoughts on how I can approach staining them without making it a thesis project? Your post was the clincher. Some refinished do not sand super smooth (finishing below 220) for this reason, and instead use top coats to gain smoothness. !function(d,s,id){var e, p = /^http:/.test(d.location) ? Poplar and red oak both have strong undertones that can affect the coloring of the stain, so its something to keep in mind if youre working with either of those! Theyre not bad and look nice but not my color of choice. I love how classic / timeless it looks butthat white oak with Simply White stain definitely gives me the heart eyes. Extremely helpful!! What can be mixed with #2716 Dk Walnut penetrating stain, to bring out a touch of red. Teak oil is generally an exterior wood finish that both oils the wood and creates a protective barrier at the same time. But I wanted to include some inspiration for not staining in case you havent given that a thought. It was so beautiful and I momentarily thought OUR STUDY COULD BE A FORMAL DINING ROOM. Weve been wanting to do a wood/stain study for years now and in my head, I wanted to doeverytype of wood with about 20 different stains each. You should really check out Invisble by Loba. LOL. Thank you for posting this! Your illustrations were fantastic and saved me from making a huge mistake. Also keep in mind it will look different when it dries, so go easy. Minwax is always my go-to for wood staining, Ive been using it for almost 20 years now. I have debating about what the difference a primer or conditioner will make, this was a big help!
I am sure it has something to do with the particular piece of wood. I personally like the look of really light-colored wood, so often, all I want is a coat of a clear finish. This is the type of post I love since I learn from it and wouldnt want to put the $ into it myself. Ive always read that you should use the pre-stain conditioner, but never really believed the hype. Its a beautiful medium shade that doesnt read yellow at all. Seriously SO HELPFUL!!! Lastly, we thought it would be beneficial to see all the same wood type with different stains in one picture.
Youd think MinWax would have this on their website. I had never used a pre-stain conditioner and also wanted to see the denefit of doing so. I am literally holding off on my cedar plank wall project until I can find a freaking can of it somewhere in the universe lol. I let it sit for about 5-10 minutes. We came to picked Oak after looking into wax-based finishes (Bona, etc.) The blanket ladder is built with white wood (spruce, pine, or fir), and the bath/breakfast tray is made from hemlock. We refinished and extended our original hardwood floors and there were gross dark stains on the original floors which didnt sand out. which one you will prefer ? and loving the color but they are not very easy to maintain in family homes. Joining our weekly newsletter gives you access to exclusive content, never-before-seen photos, your questions answered, and our favorite DIYs. The green in the Poplar board went to an almost black, like in the Jacobean stainvery stunning. This is one of my favorite posts I have ever read ! I wanted a cool brown with gray undertones, but every stain with gray in the title was just straight-up gray. We tested a few for ourselves but this is helping me to find some direction in what to try next. Really appreciated it you could totally make a series out of it! Minwax recently came out with a Simply White stain and Im in love with it! None of the charts here state what kind of wood is being tested. Thank you for this helpful post! Exactly what I was looking for. And sure enough, thats the color on my bedroom walls today! Ive referred back to this so many times. I love the white oak with the simply white stain.
But I know that for me, when the wood Im using isnt shown in the sample, I dont really trust the samples anymorewhich is why purchasing a ketchup-packet-sized stain sample to take home and try out on a scrap piece can be a great option. If nothing else, looking through our list may help you identify what elements of a stain you like and dont like. Probably, but youd likely need a combo of stains and Im not sure what that combo would be. Have you found one color stain that makes them similar? So thorough. The poly also added some splotchiness to the finish. Ive got you covered! and test out the stain first. Any cherry or red furniture I bleach before doing all the other steps. Wow! The floors were sanded and then stained with Minwax Provincial.
But then there is the world of bleaching! The red oak brr nightmares of 1980s cabinets and heart cutout furniture. It dries quick and doesnt yellow! simply the best thing Ive seen on how various stains work on various woods Thank you for doing this. Sent it to my boyfriend Im the researcher in this love. For this particular experiment, I stuck to just wood that can easily be found at your local big box hardware store no specialty wood here. Also, professional pros (the ones who take their time to listen to you and do the job right) always water-pop the wood when using dark stains. Why would they do that and not stick with white oak??? I built a queen sized farmhouse bed a YEAR ago this month and I have yet to gain the courage to actually stain and finish it, fearing Ill hate it after I screw it up with an ugly stain color or horrible application of it. Ft. of 4/4 and 10 Bd. THANK YOU so much for this! I want a matt black stain with no shine at all. We are in the process of refinishing old pine floors. Very interesting! And I didnt realize how much I loved birch and poplar before this! looking to refinish our hardwood floors. These are such a fantastic option for anyone who is nervous about trying out stain and wants to get their feet wet. Although, no red came through with the pine at all. yes! Plus, a Bathroom Vanity Round-Up, Inspiration For The Upstairs Laundry Room, Spotting Our Loloi Rugs in the Wild: Part 2, Deciding On a Paint Color For the Wainscoting in the Study. Dunn Lumber and its partners cannot and do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information, materials, or advice on dunndiy.com. Same color, different brand. And of course it is orange once again. This is a great post and helped me decide which stain to use on the twin bed my husband is making for our son! Great post idea. Id love more in-depth stain experiments. I did not edit the lighting or colors in any way. This post was super interesting! Tough to know! This post saved sooooo much of my time! I just sent them an example photo of something I like, but didnt specify a stain. For example, a couple years ago, I was picking a paint color for my bedroom. When designing a project to put in your homeor refinishing a piece of furnitureit can be incredibly difficult to visualize and pick out the perfect stain color. Cabot makes a good one, and you can get it from Lowes. THANK YOU!!!! The other three projects (the display case shelf, desktop organizer,andairplane swing) that are stained in Provincial are white wood or SPFa mixture of spruce, pine, and fir. On the left half, I used Watcos Lacquer in Matte, and on the top right is the unfinished wood. I loved this post so much! To me, Gunstockis another good middle-of-the-road stain. Thank for doing this! Im not sure how (or if it is even possible) to achieve the color I want. Minwax Dark Walnut. This was incredibly helpful! Going to bookmark it or future reference. I have a rustic oak console with knots and grain-finished in a medium matte stain. When working with maple or birch, you usually leave the stain on longer to achieve a darker result. Thanks so much for putting this together.