Expresso stain or dye

Hey EmtWW
This is tough question, In each brand of finish they will have a stain and call it the same name but the colors are completely different. I would suggest General Finishes for good water base stains. Just get a chart and select a color that works for you.

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop, custom furniture ,maker, woodworking school, heirloomwoodshop.com

Was just talking to my neighbor today and he said as a kid they would use coffe and VERY little water to make a dark stain. Thought that was what your title was! haha

Agree with A1Jim. You might want to pin down exactly what “shade” of color they are looking for. They all very by manufacturer.

Scrappy

-- Scrap Wood's the best...the projects are smaller, and so is the mess!

What I do is get a color chart first from a place that mixes stain colors (if you have a Lowes around you they do this with Cabot stain) and then have the client pick out a few colors and have them mix a half pint of each and test it. The half pints only cost 2 or 3 dollars. Then once you know what they want, have them mix it in a quantity you need. Another thing I do is once they decide and the piece is handed off to them, is I give them the half pint of stain I bought for the test for touch ups down the road.

-- Wayne - Plymouth MN

Thanks for the replies, my friend decided that he likes the general finishes espresso stain, so that’s what I’ll use.

Try Mohawk ultra penatrating stains. They are achol based and leave a rich color.

I’m a little late, but I am a big fan of General Finishes’ water-based stains! I used their Espresso on some high grade maple ply and it is very good stuff. Highly recommended.

On top of it, I used PolyWhey for a completely water-based process, and the 2 got along together quite well.