Wood Stains

What is Wood Stain? 

Wood stain is a semi-transparent coating designed to beautifully enhance the natural characteristics of a wood surface, whilst also providing an extra degree of protection and preservation.  

How Does Wood stain work? 

Rather than applying as a covered surface layer of colour, wood stain penetrates deep into the wood, soaking pigment into the wood fibres whilst allowing the original wood features and grain effects to be maintained.  

Why Use Wood Stain? 

As well as adding a stunning enhancement of colour to your wood surfaces, wood stain also helps to increase resilience and improve protection against UV, moisture, rotting, fading and more. Popular amongst DIYers and professionals alike, wood stains are brilliantly easy to apply and are available in a fantastic range of stunning finishes.  

Within our collection, you’ll find a wide variety of both oil and water-based wood stains to accommodate a multitude of internal and external applications.  

Oil-Based Wood Stain 

With fantastic durability and deep wood penetration, oil-based wood stains are a popular, easy-to-apply choice for both trade and DIY projects. Whilst some oil-based stains can entail slower drying times, many find that this makes it far easier to achieve an even and consistent finish, completely free of lap marks.   

Water-Based Wood Stain 

Not only are water-based stains non-flammable and low-odour but they also contain less polluted articles and substances, so are the perfect choice for eco-conscious DIYers. When correctly applied, water-based stains offer excellent colour retention and last for far longer with resistance to UV rays, mould, mildew and algae. Water-based formulas are also very fast-drying, with most stains allowing foot traffic just a few hours after application.  

With a wide range of stains available to pick from, it's important to understand what to look out for when making your choice.  

Reaction to Wood – Certain stains will react differently to different types of wood. Water-based stains typically enhance the original colour of the wood grain whilst oil-based formulas penetrate further into the wood, creating a deeper colour finish. Oak, for example, is generally very absorbent of wood stain, whilst more exotic wood types such as pine or maple have smaller pores and tighter grains for a slightly trickier job.  

Location & Environment – Your choice of stain should also depend on where exactly it is your wood surface is located. For example, if you are applying to a garden deck, ensure you’ve selected a water and weather-resistant stain to avoid moisture damage, cracking, splintering etc.   

Considering Lighting – The appearance of a stained wood surface can change depending on the surrounding lighting conditions. If applying inside your home, consider testing a small section and seeing how it reacts to the different lighting settings in the space.  

For external projects, don’t forget to consider where and how the sun will shine too. Apply a test and observe over a few days how the changing natural light alters the appearance of the stain.  

Colour Opacity – The end finish will also depend on the number of layers that are applied and the opacity of your chosen stain. One coat will create a more luminous effect than say two or three, so ask yourself how intense of a finish you are going for. 

For a contemporary look, limiting your stain to fewer coats or picking a translucent formula will achieve a lighter, modern style finish. For those looking to create contrast and a more dramatic result, a deeper penetrating, dark-tone stain would complement a classic or moodier aesthetic perfectly. (We always advise following the manufacturer’s guidance and instruction on coat application.)