Different Stains and Finishes

Your unfinished wood furniture looks beautiful as it is, but it won't for long. Wood is porous, sucking up spills and dirt until it fades to gray. Stains and finishes enrich and protect your wood for ages. But how to sift through the options?

Sneak peek

Unfinished wood is nearly blonde. Any finish will darken it somewhat. If you want a sneak peek at how your project will turn out, dampen a rag and wipe it across the dry, bare wood. What you see is almost exactly how it will look if you finish it without using any stain.

Staining Apply stain to unfinished wood furniture to bring out the beautiful grain of the wood. The difference from light to dark is much more dramatic and dimensional. Stain soaks deep into wood's pores, so it helps stabilize the wood too, slowing the absorption of moisture or spills. Because it is designed to soak in deep, it doesn't stay on the surface enough to seal the wood. That's what a finish finishes. Stain comes in a lot of colors, like "Red Oak," "Dark Walnut" and "Ebony." It's very inexpensive, so buy a small can and test it in an inconspicuous spot or on scrap wood. Because pine furniture has a simpler grain, it's more common to skip the stain and enjoy pine's natural honey-gold color. Oak furniture is almost always stained, to bring out the best of its complex grain. The finish line In a way, finishes like varnish or shellac are the opposite of stains: they're meant to stay on the surface of the wood to protect and seal it. Once you've stained your unfinished wood furniture (or not), always apply a finish to seal out dirt, moisture and spills.

Varnish and shellac are considered surface sealers, because that's where they stay. Varnish comes in satin or gloss finishes and is easy to apply. Shellac is generally very glossy and takes a little more practice to get it right.

Penetrating finishes like tung oil split the difference between stain and varnish. Tung oil penetrates the wood, then hardens. Because it soaks in, it has to be applied in many light coats and re-applied in a light coat every year or so. If you're patient, you'll get beautiful results with ease. Tung oil is as easy to rub in as hand lotion, and works about the same way, moisturizing and enriching your wood, buffing up to a rich satin glow.