Varathane 368029 Less Mess Wood Stain and Applicator, 4 oz, Dark Walnut

Although the “after” is still wet, I am incredibly pleased with the results and ease of the product. I was concerned that the color would not be dark enough to fix this laminate on our tables, but it definitely exceeded my expectations. I hand sanded the tables prior to applying and ensured that it was clean before application.Love that it is an all-in-one product and came out thicker and more pigment than expected. I did apply multiple coats and feel like it will do the job. While wet, it does have sticky texture but worth the value so far! I feel as if our tables are new!

Perfect for small craft projects. The wooden dowel rod from Dollar Tree looks a million times better stained when I'm doing a macrame project. I used Golden Oak and the pic shows one coat. Dries quickly. Very easy to use and clean. I had no issues with application. I highly recommend!

I didn’t want to paint my cabinets, but they looked dull, dried out and I just wanted them to look better. This product was super easy to apply (just like polishing a shoe) & gave them a richer look. After a small banister, 9 cabinet fronts, and 4 drawer faces, the sponge applicator was destroyed. There was plenty of stain left, but no way to get it out. Perhaps I pressed too hard, but you have to press down for the stain to come out. I would still buy again. Leaves cabinets a little sticky until it fully dries.Before (right cabinet done only) & After pictures.

Even with a good sanding it took a lot to get color set, but set it did but personally would not actively seek this one out if it were not on the shelf wherever I was shoppinb.

This stuff is great. Goes on easy. No mess and love the color. Perfect for my small laser crafts.Apply with sponge top and I wipe off excess with paper towels or rag.I've tried all different brands of stains. This has become my favorite.

Had to stain some wood pieces for a project I'm working on. I basically never work with wood and didn't want to end up buying a bunch of supplies I'd never use again, so this seemed ideal. It was not. Honest to gosh, I cannot imagine a possible reason to buy or use this product. If someone gave it to me for free I wouldn't use it. Heck, I PAID for the darn thing and went out to buy something else so I wouldn't have to use it anymore! Let me lay out the issues, as I see them:1) The squeeze- You have to CONSTANTLY squeeze it, at almost full muster, for many minutes at a time (depending on the size of your piece). It is physically exhausting using this product.2) The time- It took so much longer than it needed to. I had 7 wooden slats that needed stain applied and it took over an hour to get about halfway to complete. That's not counting the hours of drying between coats. To be fair, I was looking to turn these things black, so it needed quite a bit of coverage, but the application is so ridiculously slow and clumsy.3) The coverage- As I kind of alluded to above, the coverage was not good. At least partially because I had somewhat rough wood and partially because I needed it DARK, but even so, I'd applied 2 coats on each side and still needed at least a couple more.Using this product was so bad, that at this point, 2 coats in and realized I had at least another day of application and drying ahead of me, I just went to the store and bought the smallest can of Minwax liquid penetrating stain they had. I grabbed a cloth, dipped it in the can, and finished these things to perfection in 10 minutes. Easy, peezy, lemon squeezy.There is no possible reality where paying $10 for this "less mess wood stain applicator" and squeezing your forearms into oblivion, applying MANY coats, over the course of days, only to end up with subpar results, is a better option than buying a $10 can of stain, tearing up an old shirt, and finishing the job in 10 minutes, with stellar results. The ONLY possible use case for this product is to recommend to a buddy as a trick to pay them back for a time they wronged you. May gosh have mercy on your soul.

Not only does this coat beautifully, if you happen to get it on your hands if you quickly wipe it off with water, you don’t stain your fingers or your palms. Coats very well. (once you get the stain flowing onto the application sponge freely.)And leaves a beautiful semi flat finish

This worked great for a touch up job on my floor. It reminds me of the old white shoe polish with the sponge applicator. If you ever used one of those, you will know how easy it is to use this.