Stain / Varnish- the difference

mkb

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Hello all. Could anyone explain to me the difference in the two i.e stain and varnish ?
 
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Stain is really 'wood dye'. It dyes the wood and nothing else.

Varnish is sometimes clear and sometimes coloured, but you can always see through it, like transparent paint.
 
Sadolin and Sikkins are classed as 'stains' but aside from just colouring the wood they also protect it.

If your thinking about adding a bit of colour to wood id suggest buying oil based wood DYE and adding a little drop of oil based varnish to it...the varnish allows it to go further and slightly raises the grain in the wood...then rub it down with fine grade abrasive paper and re coat with the clear varnish joe was talking about.
 
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I've just finished my new stairs, matching the old stair case. I used a combination of wood dye followed by stain (coloured varnish) to get the right effect. Both spirit based.

I find the waterbased "stains" are hard to get a good finish and end up hidding the beauty of the wood. The technique I've used enhances the grain and give a good longlasting finish.

I've got some pictures my blog Dye and Stain pictures
 

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