Appropriate Stain for Stand?

MjOB · Aug 25, 2021

I have my Oak stand for my new ~360 gallon aquarium. I am wanting to stain it. To match the rest of my home office / basement, I am wanting to use the stain I had leftover from when the basement was done (<1 year old stain). The stain is a Sher-Wood BAC Wiping Stain.

I don't know much about staining. The threads I read on the topic seem to highly recommend "Minwax", however I am wanting this to match.

Can someone direct me - can I use this Sherwin Williams Sher-Wood (S64 B 54) for my stand and be good? Should I pre-coat it or post-coat it with something else? Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

JumboShrimp · Aug 25, 2021

My general tip: Instead of staining a few coats first, then applying a varnish to seal, I made the mistake of buying a Stain + Varnish all-in-one product. It was like glue, and very hard to work with. It happens a lot when you try to get one product to work as well as two (e.g., PVC pipe Cleaner + Cement all-in-one, rather than buying each separately.)

MjOB · Aug 25, 2021

JumboShrimp said:
My general tip: Instead of staining a few coats first, then applying a varnish to seal, I made the mistake of buying a Stain + Varnish all-in-one product. It was like glue, and very hard to work with. It happens a lot when you try to get one product to work as well as two (e.g., PVC pipe Cleaner + Cement all-in-one, rather than buying each separately.)

To clarify - you recommend doing a few coats of stain and then a varnish instead of an all-in-one?
Does it matter what kind of stain? (Am I safe to use this Sher-Wood BAC wiping to get the color I want?)
Does it matter what kind of varnish?

JumboShrimp · Aug 25, 2021

Correct.

Beyond the procedure, then I think the type of stain and varnish is largely up to you and what you like. Home Depo / Lowe's type stuff. Ask about a high gloss vs. a low gloss, to get the sheen you prefer. You might ask about something with 'low fumes' if it's next to your baby's room, etc. (Lol).

TriggerFinger · Aug 25, 2021

I personally do not like the minwax stains but they are recommended a lot because they are easy to get ahold of. Your stain choice is fine. SW will be able to give you the appropriate top coat. Make sure you are thorough with your top coat, make sure everything is dry between coats and take your time. It should turn out beautiful! I found that cotton rags worked the best on my projects, you can buy a pretty good sized bag at Home Depot in the paint section.