Varathane 381121 Water Based Wood Stain, Quart, Smoke Gray

This goes on quickly and dries quickly so as to be able to proceed with stain. The conditioner greatly improves the overal smooth appearance of your stain when finished. Also gives you more time to work and slows stain absorption, to keep from getting over-dark.

Bought this as an external protectant for my above ground planters. I love the dark color! It coats very well, wipes away easily, dries very fast in the sun (VERY FAST). It smells like stain, but I did it outside and in CO there is always a wind of some sort so it wasn't all that bothersome. It cleaned up pretty easily as it's water based. All in all it was a good value. I used 2 of these to stain both planters. I'd use it again easily.

I just finished a desk build project where I integrated an epoxy resin river with LED lights. I wanted dark wood, but didn't want to break the bank on a walnut slab. So, I went with butcher block countertops from the big orange hardware store. They're made of hevea wood from Vietnam. Very solid, maple-like hardwood that's really inexpensive... but it's white wood. So, I wanted to stain the wood a dark walnut color. I did my due diligence and found out that you absolutely, positively must use water-based stain when it may come in contact with epoxy. Guess what my local big orange hardware store doesn't carry? Water-based stain... Amazon to the rescue. Not only does this go on really well and was the color I wanted (after a couple of coats), it is super easy to clean up! When I accidentally brushed some onto the epoxy, it was as simple as wiping it up with a damp towel. pay attention though... that wet towel dragged across the actual wood will pull up the stain. All in all, I'm really happy with the end result!(Side note: the pictures give the stain a slight yellow tint. It's a much deeper brown.)

This is a very nice stain. Just keep in mind that any water base stain has to be spread on the wood surface very fast. That's why water base stains are recommended to be prayed, not rubbed on like lacquer or oil stains. Water based stains dry super fast & gives very little working time. But the results are beautiful. I highly recommend to try using it on a small spare scrap wood to get the feel of how fast water base stain dries. Especially keep in mind that since it's water base, if swells up the wood. So wherever you have 2 laminate woods butting up with each other, the line across where they both meet will raise up. Careful on the edge banding edges also where the water base stain can get in, ungluing & lifting the edge band.

This product is easy to use and the color is exactly what I was looking for. I used it indoors due to weather and had no problem with smell. I used it on my coffee table and the durability has been great. (I put my feet up on the coffee table) I will be using this product again!

Beautiful color, best quality for cheapest price we've found anywhere. will be using this for every project.

Works well! Low smell and fumes.

This stain worked well to seal my wooden fence. It was easy to apply with a paint sprayer. A good amount comes in this can.