I built Marys Tables as a Christmas gift for my Wife a few years back.Hand cut mortises (my hands still hurt) in white oak.It was my first use of water based stain…never again they still don't have poly on them
Thanks! the thing I don't like aout water based stain is the additional prep required. It just seems counter productive to me to raise the grain…then knock it down again…seemingly forever.It is a durable finish cleanup was a snap but to me it just doesn't come out as "rich" looking
I've had good results with water-based stain, but it's much netter if you use the conditioner first. Since that adds an extra step, though, I pretty much stick with the oil-based stains.