Wood stain
A penetrating stain soaks into the wood and the excess is wiped off. Minwax says its oil-based Wood Finish dries and can take another coat in 2–3 hours, that the longer it sits before wiping the darker the colour, and that it must be completely dry before a topcoat.
Gel stain is thicker: General Finishes describes its Gel Stain as having a thick viscosity, and gives it 8 hours or more to dry to the touch and 24 hours or more before the next coat, and says to finish it with three coats of topcoat.
Oil-based penetrating stain
Oil-based penetrating stain: recoat across makers
Only one maker’s sheet so far, so no class value: see its own figure below.
Oil-based penetrating stain: coverage across makers
Only one maker prints a coverage, so no class value: see its own figure below.
| Product | Touch-dry | Recoat | Use | Full cure | Coverage | Thinning and notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minwax Wood Finish One source: Minwax (Sherwin-Williams), the maker of that product | — | 2–3 h | — | — | 500–600 sq ft per gallon | Oil-based penetrating stain; the longer it sits before wiping, the darker the colour; let it dry completely before topcoating. |
Gel stain
Gel stain: recoat across makers
Only one maker’s sheet so far, so no class value: see its own figure below.
Gel stain: coverage across makers
Only one maker prints a coverage, so no class value: see its own figure below.
| Product | Touch-dry | Recoat | Use | Full cure | Coverage | Thinning and notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Finishes Gel Stain One source: General Finishes, the maker of that product | 8+ h | 24+ h | — | 30 days | up to 800 sq ft per gallon | Thinning: Mineral spirits.Conditions: 70 °F, 50 % RH.Oil-based gel stain; GF says to finish with 3 coats of any GF topcoat. |
Work it out for your project
Times are the makers' own at the temperature and humidity they name, and several of them say cooler, damper conditions slow their finishes. For how much to buy, the finish coverage calculator uses these same coverage figures. Every finish side by side: the finish dry time chart. What the federal rules say about finishes and food: food-contact finishes.
Elsewhere in finishing: shellac and the shellac cut calculator; for repairs before the finish, wood filler vs wood putty; and for the glue-up, wood glue types.