My Experience using Minwax oil based penetrating stain and Varathane wiping stain

[Rich Aldrich]

Finishing cabinets has been a challenge for me. I would get spots where the stain would not take due to finger prints of glue or just missed areas at glue steams. Once I started wiping down the surface with mineral spirits to find possible spots of glue that were missed during final sanding, the spots were found and sanded out most of the time prior to applying stain. My go to finish was Minwax Penetrating stain - not the one step stain and poly. I used Minwax polyurethane as a top coat. The issue with this stain is that once it was applied, and you find a spot that had to be sanded out, the stain would not darken the wood the same when the stain was reapplied. It is like this stain has polyurethane in it that seals the wood so you cant reapply stain and get the same shade. A light spot shows and it sticks out like a sore thumb.

I have started the process of making cabinets for the kitchen out of quarter sawn oak. I decided to mess around with other brands of stain and polyurethane. I am using Varathane wiping stain and if you have a spot of glue or something you miss, you can sand it and reapply the stain. You cannot tell where the spot was sanded and restained. For me, it is much easier to work with for this reason.

Maybe this is the difference between a penetrating stain and a wiping stain, but I thought I would pass it on my experience and observation.

[Jim Becker]

Many pigment stains like the Minwax product have "binders" in them which is pretty much a very dilute, but effective bit of varnish that dries to lock in the pigments, etc. It's not about the name of the product; rather, it's about the formula. I don't normally use oil based products but have used the Minwax from time to time. Given that Home Depot has given Minwax the heave-ho in favor of Varathane brand, I guess I'll have to try it to see what it's characteristics are in comparison.

[Lee Schierer]

Sometimes you can sand just the spots by hand with some 140 grit paper instead of 220 grit and touch up just the spot. The coarser grit paper negates the sealing effect of the stain.