# Gel stain sucks....



## tturner (Nov 5, 2012)

That pretty much sums it up for me. I hope your exeperience is or was better. I made a nice book case for my good customer (daughter) and it is great. She is happy with it so far. I HATE staining to begin with, but it had to match her existing bedroom furniture. The only color that Woodcraft had was Java gel stain so i had no choice but go with it. It went on pretty well. But the wipe down part wasnt pretty at ALL. If you happen to wipe cross grain, and at joints, sometimes you have to, it shows up as if you went across it with 80 grit. This just doesnt happen with regular liquid stains. The color is nice. I used pre-stain conditioner and i have in the past and it seems to even the color out nicely. I highly suggest that if you must stain. 
In summation i have these 2 things to say….
1-I still hate staining. This is one of those things you have to do every so often to remind yourself why you dont do it more often. 
2-If not for the bad days, you wouldnt know if you were having a good day.
Guys if you have any tips (dont use gel stain is too little, too late), I am all ears about gel stains. I know i have to stain something sometimes, so i may as well figure out the best ways.


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## pintodeluxe (Sep 12, 2010)

1+ gel stains make life harder, not easier. The main problem I have with them is when wiping down the project, you get light and dark streaks. Looks uneven and makes me frown.
I have gone exclusively to Rodda oil based stains, which are great.
Benefits include…
1. Sprayable, or wipe on with clean rag.
2. Hides jointlines, and blends panels together perfectly. 
3. Easy to apply.

I have also had decent results with Varathane products.


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## Tkf (Feb 14, 2013)

I haven't had a problem with gel stains. Although I never condition my substrate because the gel should penetrate evenly. Perhaps your stain was just too thick and that you'll need to dilate it. And I don't mean the conditioner.

I never realized that people just hate staining so much. Let alone finishing.


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## Tennessee (Jul 8, 2011)

I've never had any luck with gel stains, and I refinished pro for 12 years. I hate gel stain, there is no gel stain in my shop, and I find that any staining I have to do can be accomplished with clear stains like Minwax, or dyes such as Behlen.


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## teejk (Jan 19, 2011)

I use them more like a paint than a stain. Areas that are hard to get to and won't be noticed (e.g. we had some exposed truss tails 16 feet up on a cathedral ceiling). Other than that, I've tried them (Minwax) and never again. That wipe-off is nasty.


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## gfadvm (Jan 13, 2011)

Yep, same here: experiences with gel stain were all bad!


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## BigRedKnothead (Dec 21, 2012)

I don't like stains. But if I have to get color, I go with watco danish oil in the various colors. Doesn't seem to blotch, just have been really happy with the results.


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## woodbutcherbynight (Oct 21, 2011)

Shelf life in reality, not what they claim, really sucks. I use tape to mark when I buy chemicals, and when I used them last. So many better products. I remember a guy selling this at the woodshow one year and I decided to try a can. I used it within a month, worked so so nothing to write home about then went to try to use it again 3 months later, no go. I keep the shop at 55F all winter long the environment is stable and in the summer I have A/C set at 80, again normal. I left all my chemicals sitting for 3 years while in Iraq and I was surprised at how much was still good.


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## mojapitt (Dec 31, 2011)

Gel stain to me is more like paint. Stain should work with the grain of the wood. Gel hides it.


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## mking1 (Jan 11, 2011)

Right gel stain is a semi-transparent paint. I've used it twice both times on flat sawn white oak and had very good results. I don't usually stain wood but in my opinion flat sawn white oak needs help.


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## mking1 (Jan 11, 2011)

Right gel stain is a semi-transparent paint. I've used it twice both times on flat sawn white oak and had very good results. I don't usually stain wood but in my opinion flat sawn white oak needs help.


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## stnich (May 24, 2010)

I just finished using three different color MinWax gel stains on I Pad and I Phone Docks. I do promotional work for the MinWax Co. so I use their products a lot. They were made out of Pine which can be difficult to stain. I picked pieces of wood with very prominent grains and used MinWax's conditioner on them all. After sanding with a RO sander to 100 grit I sanded with the grain by hand up to 100-120 grit after that. I applied the conditioner as per the direction on the can. I made sure that the Gel Stain was warm and then applied it with a brush and quickly rubbed it down with a clean cloth. I didn't leave very much stain on the pieces and didn't go back into the stain very much. Then after they dried I knocked the stain down with a synthetic abrasive pad and applied another coat using the same technique as before. After the stain dried I knocked it down again and applied 3-4 coats of MinWax wipe on Poly sanding in between coats. They look very good. I have found that Gel Stains can be difficult to work with but just like any product you need to develop a good finishing strategy to get good results.


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## Blackie_ (Jul 10, 2011)

I'm not a fan of gel either but when I do use it I always do a coat of wood conditioner first as it protects against the gel blotching.


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## tturner (Nov 5, 2012)

It doesnt matter what you do, nothing changes the finishes. I have finished this damn thing 5 times. Ive sanded, and not sanded in between coats and there is no change. If you happen to wipe across the grain, youve put permanent marks in it. if you rub against another part that is already finished, it will remove that because of the solvents. The rest of the can just went to the trash can!


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## Cosmicsniper (Oct 2, 2009)

You don't wipe a gel stain, no matter what the instructions say. Like others have said, you should use it like a paint, or perhaps a glaze…and in fact, it makes for a good glaze when that technique is required.

To match existing furniture, I'd suggest using aniline dyes, either in alcohol or blonde dewaxed shellac. Water works too, but you have some grain raising to contend with.


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