Thank you so much dude! finally someone who actually shows oak finishes instead of just painting over their old cabinets. God bless you man! You are an absolute legend, and now I can build a camper with these beautiful 90's style cabinets!
This is truly the most fantastic video, it shows exactly what they look like compared to each other. Thank you so much. We are refinishing our red oak hardwood floors and I will share this video with my husband.💖
Thank you so much for posting this video showing the examples on oak. 99% of the videos out there always show stain colors on wood that no kind of furniture ever gets made out of. I've been trying to match stain on 3 unfinished oak doors & going out of my mind because nothing matches. I honestly think I've tried just about every stain around here. The 2 colors (Ipswitch & Gunstock) are 2 that I haven't tried yet. Your examples look much closer to the color I'm looking for than the store examples do. I truly appreciate you posting this genuine video! My sanity thanks you as well! 😊👍
Thank you very much for this video. I have an old house, stripping paint from cabinets and molding, all old growth red oak. I'm going to go with the gunstock miniwax. You saved me quite a bit of time, money and uncertainty.
Thank you for this! I've been attempting to figure out what stain I want for my project, and it's been a toss up between Red Oak and Red Mahogany. It's nice to see the stain actually on a piece of the wood. I think I'll be going with Red Mahogany!
Thank you Dave. By chance on the golden oak did you first use a prestain. Minwax told me to use the prestain first and within 2 hour to use the golden oak on top. Thank.
Thank you for this! We just installed some beautiful white oak floors, now wondering how we could stain our red oak stair railing to match. Looks like maybe driftwood or special walnut would be good samples for us. Thanks!
What should I use on the Classic Grey stain on red oak for a finish on a table if I don't want any shine or any colour alterations from the sample you've shown. Since so much of the natural wood is still exposed I don't want to end up adding any red hue when I apply a finish, Thanks Dave, great video, very helpful
Good job. I like what the vintage did. I have been trying to see what mixing and also over coating with different color to see if I can get a rustic look.
Steel wool and vinegar?! Man that's the "new thing" I learned today. How long does the combo need to set before using? And does the mixture get darker over time? Meaning can I expect the same shade in the future if I use again. Thanks
I would let the combo set for a week or 2. You should expect the same shade, but Note, Wood is unpredictable, some take stain better than other's. You can check out my other video, Steel Wool & Vinegar Testing
This was very helpful. What do you recommend water or oil based? It's for an inside buffet top. I was going to go with a water based stain and 2 coats of water based clear coat. finishing it up with one coat of oil based clear coat to richen up the finish.
Thank you! My Dad gave me the nursery furniture (all oak) my parents used for my brother and I since my husband and I are planning to start our own family soon. It needs to be refinished and I was really struggling with what stain to use. This was incredibly helpful!!
Did red oak stain for newell post and stair treads. I'm pretty sure I went way too heavy with the stain, but it got the look I wanted hence why I did that. It's a bit darker than what you show and brought out the red a bit!
I’m going with the gunstock stain. I have a reel to reel tape deck and it has two side boards on it approximately 7 inches wide and 14 inches high. I bought red Oak for it. I will let you know how it turns out.
Thank you for this. Trouble selecting the product for a natural no color flat or matte finish on resurfaced red oak floors. Previously very gold of yellow from 2006. Appreciate it.!!!
Thank you. I love the Special Walnut on your samples. Unfortunately when I put it on my table it pulled a lot of red/yellow tones. Im in the process of sanding it off now. I’m looking for the clearest finish closest to natural color of the wood. Suggestions?
Been trying to find some white oak stair treads to stain golden but they either have red oak or pine but the red oak seems very red. Do you think the golden oak stain would still work on the red oak wood they use for stair treads?
eye rule same here. I am replacing the two end boards on my Teac reel to reel tape deck. The existing ones are plain old oak, and I thought I would liven up the looks of the tape deck with some fresh Red oak wood, stained. My first initial choices are, the gunstock finish, and the red oak finish. I like both of them but, I am leaning towards the gunstock finish.
@@davethewoodworker1043 im looking for a darker stain and then shining it up with a clear coat. which would you pick out of gunsmoke, red oak, red mahogany or dark walnut...kinda think the darker colors would pop more with the all white cubbies in the mudroom.
Hey Dave, Great video. I've got tons of 2 inch red oak slabs. I'm not really crazy about how red oak looks. I'm wanting to use the slabs to build some river tables. I'm wanting to stain the red oak much darker. Do you know if you can run epoxy over stain? Also, nice shirt. What part of Tennessee are you from? You sound like East Tennessee. I'm in Manchester (Bonaroo). Great vid. Thanks.
I cannot get my Natural to come out as light as yours. It comes out light on my stirring stick, but not on my red oak sample pieces. Do you have any ideas what I am doing wrong?
Hi Dave! Very nice video and thanks for uploading it. I went with a Minwax stain for my red oak handrail that was custom mixed at Sherwin Williams. I tested out a small scrap piece that I thought went adequate enough to move forward. Sadly, when staining my 9 foot handrail, it ended up very blotchy and when I tried wiping off excess, some had trouble wiping off and other areas it seemed liked all the stain wiped off. Looked absolutely horrible. Stripped the stain and tried again and it looked even worse. I've watched hours of TH-cam videos on staining and seem to be doing what most others are doing that have success. Any thoughts with your expertise. I'm at a loss and although I'm willing to start over, I don't even know what I did wrong to get such a horrible stain job. Thanks for your help!
You said you use Minwax, but it was custom mixed. I don't understand that, Minwax stains are ready to be used out of the can. Just stir, do not shake. I also wondering if something was already on the handrail before you stain. I never had a problem staining oak.
@@davethewoodworker1043 Sherwin Williams uses a Minwax "Clear Tint Base" to mix their own stains. I also stir and avoid shaking as discussed in their directions. Handrail was purchased from Home Depot where they state it is "unfinished red oak." Could it be the stain? I simply applied it with a brush and wiped off after 2-3 minutes. It simply would not evenly wipe off causing light and dark blotches. I'm dumbfounded but this wasted a lot of work and now I have a 9 foot piece of scrap railing! I don't mind starting over but I can't seem to find an answer as to how to stain it. Nothing like getting to the end of the project and see it ruined with a stain! I don't want to revert to painting but not sure what else to do. Thanks for trying to help. I'd like to hope I'm not the only one that has had this issue.
HELP! I am refinishing a table and chairs and I thought it was red oak, so I got the special walnut stain because I like the look of it, but when I apply it, it looks extremely RED! What is going wrong?
Thank you sir for this video. However I'd love for you to spend a bit of time watching and editing your videos before submitting them. I had some trouble with your southern accent when you were saying one of the samples but it was impossible to read the can as it wasn't even in the picture. Again thanks for taking the time for this but it would be really great if there was a touch of care in the videography.
Did you precondition like you did with the pine. I know it isn't that necessary, but still would be good to know what you did for a better idea. Thanks.
Thank you so much dude! finally someone who actually shows oak finishes instead of just painting over their old cabinets. God bless you man! You are an absolute legend, and now I can build a camper with these beautiful 90's style cabinets!
@@trivelox15 you're welcome
Thanks for doing this. It's very helpful to be able to see different stains side by side. Your efforts are much appreciated.
@@davidmay8390 thanks
Thanks! Helped me narrow down my choices for testing stains on red oak floor boards.
You're welcome
This is truly the most fantastic video, it shows exactly what they look like compared to each other. Thank you so much. We are refinishing our red oak hardwood floors and I will share this video with my husband.💖
Thanks and you're welcome
Thanks .Love the classic grey,special walnut and the vinegar and steelwool finishes.
You're welcome
Thank you so much for posting this video showing the examples on oak. 99% of the videos out there always show stain colors on wood that no kind of furniture ever gets made out of. I've been trying to match stain on 3 unfinished oak doors & going out of my mind because nothing matches. I honestly think I've tried just about every stain around here. The 2 colors (Ipswitch & Gunstock) are 2 that I haven't tried yet. Your examples look much closer to the color I'm looking for than the store examples do. I truly appreciate you posting this genuine video! My sanity thanks you as well! 😊👍
You're welcome
Thank you very much for this video. I have an old house, stripping paint from cabinets and molding, all old growth red oak. I'm going to go with the gunstock miniwax. You saved me quite a bit of time, money and uncertainty.
Thanks and you're welcome, hope it comes out good
Thank you for this! I've been attempting to figure out what stain I want for my project, and it's been a toss up between Red Oak and Red Mahogany. It's nice to see the stain actually on a piece of the wood. I think I'll be going with Red Mahogany!
You're welcome
Thank you Dave. By chance on the golden oak did you first use a prestain. Minwax told me to use the prestain first and within 2 hour to use the golden oak on top.
Thank.
Well you don't have to use prestain on oak.
Great video Dave!!!!
THIS IS WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR !!!! STRAIGHT TO THE POINT AND WE CAN ACTUALLY SEE WHAT YOU SEE :)
Thank you for this Dave!
Red mahogany has always been my favorite stain. Thanks for sharing!
onlychevys Williams I haven't used it in awhile, but it does look good
Yeah, I like it too. However, it's too dark on woods that soak up a lot of stain like pine. Imho
Thank you for this! We just installed some beautiful white oak floors, now wondering how we could stain our red oak stair railing to match. Looks like maybe driftwood or special walnut would be good samples for us. Thanks!
You're welcome
Thanks for the video! re-staining red oak flooring, it was very helpful.
You're welcome
What should I use on the Classic Grey stain on red oak for a finish on a table if I don't want any shine or any colour alterations from the sample you've shown. Since so much of the natural wood is still exposed I don't want to end up adding any red hue when I apply a finish, Thanks Dave, great video, very helpful
Just use any flat finished on it. It shouldn't changed colors after the stain as dried.
Good job. I like what the vintage did. I have been trying to see what mixing and also over coating with different color to see if I can get a rustic look.
Thanks
Hi Dave, Can you show what Min wax Pecan looks like on a Red Oak and a Fir?
I have 3 stairs and 4 backings. Is a small can stain enough to do the job ?
Great video. Can the steel wool and vinegar be top coated with polyurethane? Thanks
Steel wool and vinegar?! Man that's the "new thing" I learned today. How long does the combo need to set before using? And does the mixture get darker over time? Meaning can I expect the same shade in the future if I use again. Thanks
I would let the combo set for a week or 2. You should expect the same shade, but Note, Wood is unpredictable, some take stain better than other's. You can check out my other video, Steel Wool & Vinegar Testing
Thanks this has saved me a load of trial and error, appreciate it
You're welcome
the steel wool is nice color......my only wory is maybe its hard to get the exact shade in case you need some again for repair
Never thought of that, it could be
This was very helpful. What do you recommend water or oil based? It's for an inside buffet top. I was going to go with a water based stain and 2 coats of water based clear coat. finishing it up with one coat of oil based clear coat to richen up the finish.
I've only used oil based
great idea, very much needed!
Thank you! My Dad gave me the nursery furniture (all oak) my parents used for my brother and I since my husband and I are planning to start our own family soon. It needs to be refinished and I was really struggling with what stain to use. This was incredibly helpful!!
Thanks and you're welcome
I would have like to see Red Sedona. Thanks for the post, very useful!
It looks like fresh western red cedar kinda.
I like red mahogany
Did red oak stain for newell post and stair treads. I'm pretty sure I went way too heavy with the stain, but it got the look I wanted hence why I did that. It's a bit darker than what you show and brought out the red a bit!
I’m going with the gunstock stain. I have a reel to reel tape deck and it has two side boards on it approximately 7 inches wide and 14 inches high. I bought red Oak for it. I will let you know how it turns out.
How did the gunstock stain turn out? I'm trying to match the stain on a handrail and was considering the gunstock
Great video!! Thank you for taking the time to post this. Very direct and informative!
Thanks and you're welcome
This really helps a lot with my project. Thank you very much.
Thanks and you're welcome
Thank you for this. Trouble selecting the product for a natural no color flat or matte finish on resurfaced red oak floors. Previously very gold of yellow from 2006. Appreciate it.!!!
You are welcome
amazing video. Now I know what stain to pick. You can never trust the pictures on the can, they're always horse shit 96% of the time.
Thank you!
Thanks and you're welcome
Nice work on that.
Thanks
Thanks Dave. I'm in the process of retreading my stairs. This video made it easy for me to decide. Going Gunstock!
Thanks, glad it helped. Gunstock is a good choice
I love the steel wool and vinegar
Thanks for the comparison
Thank you, good sir! This is exactly what I needed. I didn't have enough red oak on hand to run these tests myself. I appreciate it.
itgetter9 Thanks and you are welcome
Great video - very helpful in choosing a stain for a red oak gift box. Thank you!
Thanks and you're welcome
Awesome! This is exactly what I was looking for.
Thanks and you're welcome
I like the steal wool dark Gray one
Thank you! Very helpful. Practical
Thank you for this! Very helpful
You're welcome
General finishes honey oak?
Fantastic video, thank you so much! This is super helpful, keep up the good work!
Very helpful! Thanks for the video!
Thank you. I love the Special Walnut on your samples. Unfortunately when I put it on my table it pulled a lot of red/yellow tones. Im in the process of sanding it off now. I’m looking for the clearest finish closest to natural color of the wood. Suggestions?
Varathane. Goes on milky, but dries clear. Gives a fairly durable coating for table use too.
Been trying to find some white oak stair treads to stain golden but they either have red oak or pine but the red oak seems very red. Do you think the golden oak stain would still work on the red oak wood they use for stair treads?
Thanks, Dave!
You're welcome
Thanks so much! This was very helpful
You're welcome
this is exactly what i needed im staining some red oak and it gives me a idea what the end product would look like
eye rule same here. I am replacing the two end boards on my Teac reel to reel tape deck. The existing ones are plain old oak, and I thought I would liven up the looks of the tape deck with some fresh Red oak wood, stained. My first initial choices are, the gunstock finish, and the red oak finish. I like both of them but, I am leaning towards the gunstock finish.
Try early American. That’s what I use on red oak
You're the man Dave!
Thanks. Lol
Thanks man this helps a bunch
You're welcome
Good video man. You helped me decide what to use on my mantle. Thank you.
lalarobert You're welcome
Have you tried sunbleached or another white stain?
No I haven't
this saved me a lot of time and money thanks!
You're welcome
What about red oak that was stained with golden oak stain? Ugh. Do i need to strip it in order to restrain with something like the grays or walnut?
Yes you would
I used the same natural stain on red oak and it was a lot more red than I see in your video.
Thank you. Great job.
Thanks
Hi, this is what I needed! How many layers of stain is on each one?
Only 1 layer
Thanks Dave! Very informative
You're welcome
This is an awesome video. I'd be curious to see how those stains looked over time. Does stained Red oak darken over time like other woods do ?
If you clear coat it, it shouldn't. But it's in the Sun, now that might be a different story
good video. Are these samples just stained or did you use a clear coat as well? about to stain a bench for a mudroom, never done this before lol
Yes these was just stain, no clear coat. I did let them dry for a few days, I wanted to show what they looked like before any clear coat
@@davethewoodworker1043 im looking for a darker stain and then shining it up with a clear coat. which would you pick out of gunsmoke, red oak, red mahogany or dark walnut...kinda think the darker colors would pop more with the all white cubbies in the mudroom.
@@mrlucky704 I like the Gunstock and Red Oak
Do you have any video on white oak yet? Thank you so much
I am working on it, should upload in a couple of weeks
Dave the Woodworker i am waiting for your video, do you think red oak and white oak will have the same color when it stain? Thank you
Just uploaded video testing stains on white oak
This is a lot like the reference swatch that they have at the store except with bad lighting and in articulate descriptions.
I’d love to know if that’s a pegboard with screws run through it. Anyone know? Thanks.
Yes it is, I have a video on how I made it
thank you
You're welcome
Hey Dave, Great video. I've got tons of 2 inch red oak slabs. I'm not really crazy about how red oak looks. I'm wanting to use the slabs to build some river tables. I'm wanting to stain the red oak much darker. Do you know if you can run epoxy over stain? Also, nice shirt. What part of Tennessee are you from? You sound like East Tennessee. I'm in Manchester (Bonaroo). Great vid. Thanks.
Thanks, you should be able too, and I'm from East Tennessee. LOL
@@davethewoodworker1043 All my family is from Morristown area. Great vids...
@@Bscott-390 that's where I live now, was born in Rogersville
@@davethewoodworker1043 That's crazy. My uncle and aunt live in Rogersville. Toni and Ronny Shultz.
What's closest to a yellowish hickory?
Thanks you your video helped me alot
You're welcome
I cannot get my Natural to come out as light as yours. It comes out light on my stirring stick, but not on my red oak sample pieces. Do you have any ideas what I am doing wrong?
Well I don't know for sure, but different trees could be, because of the grain.
Thank you
I seen an article today that said there's a major difference between earlywood and latewood
Very helpful thank you!
You're welcome
Hi Dave! Very nice video and thanks for uploading it. I went with a Minwax stain for my red oak handrail that was custom mixed at Sherwin Williams. I tested out a small scrap piece that I thought went adequate enough to move forward. Sadly, when staining my 9 foot handrail, it ended up very blotchy and when I tried wiping off excess, some had trouble wiping off and other areas it seemed liked all the stain wiped off. Looked absolutely horrible. Stripped the stain and tried again and it looked even worse. I've watched hours of TH-cam videos on staining and seem to be doing what most others are doing that have success. Any thoughts with your expertise. I'm at a loss and although I'm willing to start over, I don't even know what I did wrong to get such a horrible stain job. Thanks for your help!
You said you use Minwax, but it was custom mixed. I don't understand that, Minwax stains are ready to be used out of the can. Just stir, do not shake. I also wondering if something was already on the handrail before you stain. I never had a problem staining oak.
@@davethewoodworker1043 Sherwin Williams uses a Minwax "Clear Tint Base" to mix their own stains. I also stir and avoid shaking as discussed in their directions. Handrail was purchased from Home Depot where they state it is "unfinished red oak." Could it be the stain? I simply applied it with a brush and wiped off after 2-3 minutes. It simply would not evenly wipe off causing light and dark blotches. I'm dumbfounded but this wasted a lot of work and now I have a 9 foot piece of scrap railing! I don't mind starting over but I can't seem to find an answer as to how to stain it. Nothing like getting to the end of the project and see it ruined with a stain! I don't want to revert to painting but not sure what else to do. Thanks for trying to help. I'd like to hope I'm not the only one that has had this issue.
@@davethewoodworker1043 good advice! I didn't know this and was shaking the cans before using. Going to start over now.....lol
God damn it you didn't show me how to do it.
I'm going to cry.
I thought stains are meant to soak and then wipe off, nor to let sit for a few days. Would this affect your experiment?
Yes just let stain set for a few minutes then wipe off. I just let them dry for a few days before filming, because of using steelwool and vinegar.
@@davethewoodworker1043 thanks for clearing that up
Hello! I dont have any pre stain, can i use vanish for my first layer? Help! Btw did u pre stain all the wood in this video?
I didn't prestain the redoak
Dave the Woodworker how about pine wood? Did u prestain?
@@didintaco yes always prestain pine
Dave the Woodworker thanks!! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
HELP! I am refinishing a table and chairs and I thought it was red oak, so I got the special walnut stain because I like the look of it, but when I apply it, it looks extremely RED! What is going wrong?
Are you sure it is Red Oak?
@@davethewoodworker1043 Not for sure. I know nothing
Do I need a conditioner on oak?
No you shouldn't have to
Thank you!
You're welcome
Is the first stain you used a makeshift stain or is it an actual product?
It's a mixture of Steelwool and white vinegar. Pour vinegar in a jar and tear apart pieces of fine Steelwool. Let that set a few days.
@@davethewoodworker1043 for the steel and vinegar...would that be hard to do hardwood floors with? Not sure how much would be needed
Thank you sir for this video. However I'd love for you to spend a bit of time watching and editing your videos before submitting them. I had some trouble with your southern accent when you were saying one of the samples but it was impossible to read the can as it wasn't even in the picture. Again thanks for taking the time for this but it would be really great if there was a touch of care in the videography.
Thanks and sorry that you can't understand me. I have this up on www.instructables.com/Effects-of-Different-Stains-on-Red-Oak-Wood/
Lol. Touch in videography? For what? I can understand everything he said. Go fuck yourself
Did you precondition like you did with the pine. I know it isn't that necessary, but still would be good to know what you did for a better idea. Thanks.
No I didn't
@@davethewoodworker1043 thanks
I.P switch pine :P
Vinegar
any problems with bleeding?
youre a sweetheart!
Thanks
Rusty e oleum lmao
Never stain Red Oak.
Why is that? Red oak takes stain better than just about all other woods.
Why not?
@@jasonludwig2488 oh this was 2 years but I think it was a reference to parks and recreation
@@horsebox5138 Ah lol.
dont ever stain red oak. (use poplar)
Poplar is good for one thing..PAINT
Why not stain red oak?
very helpful, thank you!
You're welcome
So helpful. Thank you
You're welcome
Thank you!
You're welcome
Thank you!
You're welcome