MinwaxGel Stain for Interior Wood Surfaces, Quart, Aged Oak

Worked for what I needed. I used this to paint laminate wood and it did a pretty great job. I did need to use a second coat on some spots, but that was expected. The color is a nice dark warm brown in the sun, but it does look darker in certain lighting.

It's simple to use and leaves a beautiful stain on your wood. I used it on light basswood for my engraving/cutting projects and the stain came out beautiful. The smell isn't too bad and within 24 hours its fully dry. It's also quick to put on. I would definitely purchase this stain again.

I bought a used dresser in great shape but it had a few large spots where the stain had completely come off. I tried to match the stain in those spots to the rest of the dresser but even though it was the same color you could still see the spots. I really didn't want to sand the whole thing and start over so I decided to try the gel stain and it worked great.I applied the gel stain right over the top of the existing stain on the entire dresser. It totally covered up the spots and looks great.It is thicker than a normal stain so you dont see as much of the wood grain but you can still see some, especially if you wipe it off quickly.It has a strong smell so make sure to be in a ventilated area.This stain was a little more expensive but considering the time it saved me not having to sand first, I think it was well worth it.

See my photos…the first in before and the next 2 are after. First time using gel stain, and I have to say it was much easier than the liquid/watery kind…and much less messy. Our door had already been stained in the past, but had seen better days thanks to the elements, so we lightly sanded it first. We didn’t take the door off the hinges- we picked a nice day that we could leave it open for a few hours with a fan blowing on it…it dries fairly quickly. We had to go pretty thick with it to be able to keep it looking more of a uniform color. The directions say to wait 2 minutes after application and then wipe off. We actually waited about 5 minutes and then very lightly wiped it off, doing small sections at a time. The color was a bit darker than I thought it would be, but we like it. The coverage is a bit heavier than I expected but I’m sure it’s because we left it on a few minutes longer and used a heavy application….but again, we like it. The door is 9’ tall and we did 2 coats- 2 days in between and still have about a third (maybe more) of the little can left. Yes, it’s thick like pudding…IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE. We are happy with the results and would definitely use it again.

After a good amount of research, I purchased this product in Aged Oak color to makeover my basic white garage doors and give them a faux wood-look. If you’ve never used or purchased gel stain before, don’t be alarmed when you first open it and see that it is very thick, basically a pudding consistency - it’s supposed to be like this. Also, don’t shake it! Gently mix it with a paint stirrer avoiding making any bubbles. Of course stain looks a lot darker in the can than it goes on, as well.I did not prime the garage doors, but instead just cleaned them really well by power washing them and then scrubbing them with TSP Cleaner. I let the doors sit overnight to ensure they were completely dry. The stain does dry to the touch relatively quickly once applied so I don’t recommend using it outside on a windy day or in direct sunlight. I was able to do both garage doors as pictured with about 2/3 of one can, which leaves extra for touch ups. If you’re looking for a darker or more even color look, you may want to either prime first or paint the doors with a light brown or yellow paint, depending on the color you’re going for. This would help give it a more even color consistency when painting on the stain. You could also just do a quick coat with a cloth instead of a brush for a lighter color and then do a quick second coat with a chip brush. I used a Wooster stain paint brush for the application, but for this project, if I were to do it again, I’d probably use a cheap chip brush to get more brush strokes over the pattern in the door, but I just used whatever I had on hand. In hindsight, I should’ve just taken the half hour to run out and get the brush I wanted to use.All in all, I’d definitely recommend. Based on how this worked for my garage doors, I have no doubt this would work for just about anything across the board.

I've been refinishing furniture for over 50 years. I've used about every method known. This was the easiest stain finish I've used. The hardest part was stirring it 'creamy' but the match was flawless. I needed to refinish only the tops of two tables and didn't want to strip everything 100% to ensure perfect match. The stain chip was accurate, the match was perfect and I now have two tables refinished and waiting the move back into my living room. Honestly, it took longer to smooth out the stain than it did to apply and wipe off. Only one coat of stain needed.

You can paint it on anything and it covers everything. I even painted over the wood filler and the totally uneven worn finish on the table. It looks great with minimal effort. It is super easy to be neat because it is so thick and a little goes a long way. You can still see the imperfections in the wood unless you sand them away but the improvement is amazing. I did one good coat with Mahogany stain with a touch up coat, and three coats of Minwax 63333 Clear Polycrylic Water-Based Protective Finish Satin. It looks great compared to the original but you can still see any wood imperfections if the light hits it right. I found the fumes to linger and be a bit strong (although maybe I made it on too thick) so I would recommend good ventilation for about a week until the fumes go away.

A great product. Perfect for my project.