Minwax Gel Stain

I have used gel stain over painted furniture, unfinished wood and on previously stained wood. The coverage is amazing. This is something that goes on like paint. You can use a brush or staining pad. I have used both. You can put it on and wipe off excess or add on to make it darker. I love the color variation on this one. It holds up without even using a top coat. I am amazed at the things you can use with the gel stain. Very durable over time and use, quality is amazing and smooth finish. If you never used this before you will notice it is thick. You don’t have to stir much. Sometimes I don’t stir because it’s thick and the color is already there. It’s user friendly. I would choose gel stain over any regular stain. Another great product from Minwax. I do a lot of work on furniture finishing with stain and paint for my paid hobby. I love it and like to try different things.

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.

Gel stain is the way to go! It’s much easier to “control” than regular stain. This brand is reliable and well known. This color looked good. I wanted a black look, but I didn’t want to use paint. This worked out great on my deck! It dried fast and only needed one coat. Wear gloves because it is hard to get off your skin!

Love the stain, arrived later than expected but the stain is one of the best interior/exterior I found.

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.

This is my first time using gel stain ever, and I brushed it on over 40 year old painted wainscoting. I didn't use the wipe off method. Just used it as paint, but the brush made it look uneven like wood grain. I am very happy with the results so far. The color is gorgeous, and if applied liberally, it will cover near anything. It does have a heavy odor, which is consistent with an oil-based product. Not nearly done with the kitchen, but we're getting there! Excellent value. I have barely used any of this product and it has covered a large area so far.

We are total novices. This was our first project in our new home and we absolutely LOVE how the stain came out. It seems to dry quickly—it became quite tacky after first applying, so it took a little more elbow grease to wipe off the excess than we initially anticipated, but even noobs like us were able to figure it out! We're thrilled with the final look!

I've seen a lot of tutorials on Pinterest for staining "ugly" oak cabinets using a "gel stain." Most of the tutorials were recommending using a "java" color. From my computer/monitor, I couldn't tell if I would love the color, or if it would be too dark. I like a rich brown wood, but I didn't want it to be almost black--which some pictures made it look. I decided to go with this hickory shade based on another reviewer who said the same (afraid to try Java), and who was happy w/this color. I will say, I've done 3 coats (takes about 2 days to dry in between coats) and it is finally the depth of color I wanted. This might be extra work, but I was scared the java would be too dark and too close to black. Some pics made it look almost like paint. This color is beautiful and gives it a nice brown color to your cabinets, getting darker with each application... but like a good stain, the grain of the wood still shows through (so it's not paint-like or opaque) and I found w/the grain of oak, it really made applying this stain practically fool proof. Some of my little mistakes of not wiping areas properly, look just like different parts of the oak grain. I decided to try it on my laundry room cabinets (figured if I messed up, no biggie... it's the laundry room not the kitchen) and figured if I loved it, I could try it in other rooms. Needless to say, I will by buying more and doing this on all my "ugly" oak cabinets, turning them into a dark and rich brown/hickory shade. **I will try to come back and post a picture/update if I can later on (don't have pics handy).**

The product is ok, it sticks to paint surface. But it dont look like stain paint and give a glossy paint look. For me it was not what i was expecting it to be.

This stuff is amazing, it even covers all that flat pack laminate furniture. I've used this to co-ordinate furniture in my spare bedroom that was different shades of laminate, I used a primer first so it could grip the surface. You would think the furniture was originally a set. Wish I could find and buy this over the counter in fit stores here in the UK.

works a dream. No need to put on a second coat. Its a shame I can't get the same again and in the UK as well. Brilliant product.

Great product!

I redid the top of a dining table and a wooden block that I am going to use as a plinth for a bronze figure. They both look fantastic and it was easy to use. I would definitely use again.