Varathane 358317 Premium Gel Stain, Half Pint, Ipswich Pine

I got the dark walnut because I was afraid anything else would be too light or too red for this piece. I was trying to preserve the original color as much as I could while covering all the surface scratches. I did sand it down a little before starting because the scratches were so deep on the top. As you can see it did a great job. I had to slap it on real fast because of course right when I started the pot fell out of my hand. I don’t have the workspace or the time right now to do proper projects so it was good to have something that could go on quickly and easily to make the dresser pretty again. I did use a water soaked foam brush so that the stain would go on lighter otherwise it’s basically paint and I didn’t want to completely cover the old stain color. If you have the option to do it right definitely get acetone to thin this stuff cause gel and water don’t mix. (I know it’s a crime against all refinishing to have used water like this but it worked somehow.) So it looks great until I can refinish her properly in a few years.

This stain is a very rich stain. It is easy to use. It does not run like the regular wood stain. Clean up requires the use of mineral spirit. I used Dollar Tree brushes for a faux wood finish. It takes 24 hours or longer for the stain to cure correctly for good durability. In my experience, the drying time took longer than the listed dry time on the can. It maybe due to the amount of stain that I applied to my projects but I love the end results. I sealed it with a water-based polyurethane. The price is about the same as Home Depot or Walmart. This product is versatile. It can be applied to an existing stain project for refresh the look.

This little can goes a long way! I used the dark walnut color her on top of the light wood Retique wood paint.

With a lot of preparation before using gel coat , the results are amazing. I follow the instructions on the can and I watches a few videos on trusty YouTube . My diy project looks good , I did uses wood conditioner before the gel coat to get a better finish.

This made my scuffed up table look brand new!

Bought this to match my espresso furniture. It's a little lighter than espresso but it still is a perfect match. Also, the gel stain requires less coats to get a deeper color and good coverage. I stained a desktop and keyboard tray and still have a third of the 8 ounce can I bought.

This stuff is amazing. So easy to spread and beautiful results.

Good stuff nice color. Works really good to cover wood filler that was showing through badly on regular stain.