# minwax natural



## SuperDave02 (Jul 21, 2009)

Whats the point of minwax natural #209?
I'm sure it must have a use or they wouldn't produce it, but I can not see any color change at all when it's applied to pine.


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## SCOTSMAN (Aug 1, 2008)

That's probably why they call it natural.You need to stain todesired colour then add this for protection I suspect. Alistair


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## SuperDave02 (Jul 21, 2009)

Scotsman…..209 natural is a stain.


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## pintodeluxe (Sep 12, 2010)

I have a rule when buying Minwax products.
If the can says Minwax anywhere on it, don't buy it.

Looks like 209 is their lightest color. It may color maple or poplar slightly, but that's about all.


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## DaleM (Feb 18, 2009)

It does work somewhat as a pre-stain conditioner. If you use this on a piece of blotch-prone cherry it will soak into some areas more than others, just as any stain will. Than, while it's still wet, apply a colored stain and it should penetrate more evenly.


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## ClintSearl (Dec 8, 2011)

The point is profit from the gullible.


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## JAAune (Jan 22, 2012)

Minwax natural is simply an oil finish much like linseed oil. It darkens wood slightly and highlights the grain. This is a good thing when you're using figured woods.

I prefer the Minwax product over linseed oil since it dries faster. Since I prefer to go with natural wood tones wherever possible I actually use #209 in larger quantities than any other stain color.


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## Dusty56 (Apr 20, 2008)

Hmmmm…*Natural.*.....let me think a minute…..oh , I get it now. DOH !!










*Penetrates , Stains, and Seals*


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## Finisherman (May 3, 2013)

At the risk of being accused of stating the obvious, a natural stain will give the same colour as a coat of linseed oil or an oil-varnish blend. I strongly suspect that the only substantive difference will be in the price. By the same tolen, "furniture refinisher" is just an overpriced mixture of denatured alcohol and lacquer thinner. It's all just marketing.


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## mtn_goat (Jun 22, 2010)

Well, I find it useful as a base for when I am trying to mix a custom color or match another piece. Works quite well for that.


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## Tennessee (Jul 8, 2011)

I use a LOT of Minwax Natural, especially on my guitars. Its primary purpose is to make the grain pop and bring out the figure. It dries fairly quickly, and applies just like any other stain. No worries as if I was changing products such as using an oil-varnish blend, tung oil, etc. Also is well suited for a clear base to blend an oil stain into a custom color. Keep it on the shelf all the time.


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## HorizontalMike (Jun 3, 2010)

The Devil made me do ti!


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## Finisherman (May 3, 2013)

If I can amend what I said before, a couple of people brought up good points which didn't occur to me last night. I can see how this product would work well as a base for creating custom colours. If you want to "pop the grain" but don't want to use a product outside of the Minwax line, then this would work well there too. There's less chance of compatibility problems when you use, for example, Minwax natural stain in combination with Minwax polyurethane.


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## LakeLover (Feb 2, 2013)

Natural stain is for people that just have to stain things. Seems like no one can appreciate wood for woods sake.


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## JollyGreen67 (Nov 1, 2010)

LakeLover - Amen!


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## ssnvet (Jan 10, 2012)

I believe the point is to seal the wood surface on pine, so that when you apply stain over it, it absorbs more uniformly and give less "blotching" and less drastic color variation across the variations in the grain….. which are always problems when staining pine.

I've used the Minwax natural for this purpose, but was not at all happy with the results. The stain was still blotchy.

General Finishes Natural, however, does work very well for this purpose and I highly recommend it. IIUC, it is a dilute water based urethane (similar to diluted Minwax Polycrylic)

That's been my experience.


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## HorizontalMike (Jun 3, 2010)

"...Whats the point of minwax natural #209?..."

You may also want to take a look at this thread on the same topic several months ago:

MinWax -- Natural Wood Finish VS Tung Oil Finish


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## OggieOglethorpe (Aug 15, 2012)

I use a ton of Minwax Natural stain. In fact, Natural is the only Minwax stain I'll use, the others are ugly. ;^)

Natural is simply a mix of a thin varnish binder, some oil, and possibly a little dye.

The problem is that you only tried it on a single example, a wood that has a very subtle effect from it, and you probably didn't clear coat it. On some species, this stain will accomplish the same slight ambering and figure popping as a rub of boiled linseed oil, but will dry faster and bleed less from open pored woods. Also keep in mind that the oil component in this stain will darken after some time.

The effects added by this stain are not dramatic, and on some species, not necessary. Some oil varnishes will provide the same effect, so the stain may not be necessary. Try some other species, like quartersawn white oak, cherry, or vertical grain fir, by doing half the board. Then, coat the entire board with a clear coat. Natural stain is very useful in warming up some woods under water based finishes, sprayed lacquers, and shellac.

Never judge any stain or dye until it's clear coated. Keeping rattle cans of fast drying shellac or lacquer on hand is really handy when experimenting.

Many finishing products are simply an ingredient, like pepper… Depending on what else is in the recipie, an ingredient may be redundant, awful, or a nice addition.


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