Easy Solutions to Common Staining Problems | Minwax

Stains are a great way to change the color of any wood, but the unpredictable nature of wood surfaces can often present challenges to any DIY project. Bruce Johnson shares his experience to help you avoid issues like blotchy wood stain finish through essential preparation steps, surface preparation with Minwax Wood Conditioner, specific sanding techniques, and more.
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[@chrisgagnon2942]

Thank you sir. I found a big nice old buffet in the side of the road. I sand it down. Now I will for sure put pre stain before I stain it. 👍🏻

[@kolosvarga3732]

Back to sanding again to remove the stain and apply the first coat as it mentioned in the video. I wished I find this video sooner and save me some time on sanding 2nd time

[@Charming214]

I just did that mistake today now I got to take the stain out tomorrow 🤦‍♂️

[@michelleduncan9965]

Me too Kolos. I put the stain on right after thoroughly sanding & wiping the boards down well. But, my mistake was NOT using the Pre Conditioner before staining. Now, all the boards I stained are very blotchy. I will have to re-sand all the boards, apply a coat of Pre Conditioner, then stain all boards again.

[@MinwaxUSA]

Hi Michelle, Feel free to reach out to our customer support team if you'd like some help on your project at [e-mail] or by phone at 1-800-523-9299. Thank you!

[@TKD187]

I was trying to stain My guitar and on some parts of it it looks great but just about all of the back of the guitar and all of the bottom the stain did not sink in and I sanded it really good actually I sanded it a little bit too good in some spots so maybe I just have uneven surface I was going to wipe away the spots that did not sink in so I know where to sand , hopefully that fixes it . I mean it's a really cheap guitar that I'm trying to make look really cool and I've spent at least $100 on paint and sanding tools so becoming very frustrating at this point . Nice video I think I know what to do now though

[@leonardolizama7673]

Thank you for the tips. Also I want to refinish my cabinets my two questions are#. 1 I have to remove the stain completely #2 can I sanding down with 150 then just stain again without pre wood conditioner. Thank you for your help

[@MinwaxUSA]

Hi there Leonardo, So that we can better assist you with this matter, please contact us directly at [e-mail] or by phone at 1-800-523-9299. Regards, Minwax Customer Support

[@timg8337]

I put pre-stain on poplar and STILL got blotches. Can I get rid of the blotches by sanding it out and re-staining?

[@dave199010]

helpful information, thank you

[@kristopherdetar4346]

I use this product on antique hardwood over 100 years old and it blocks out a good majority of the stain product from penetration. I have to then strip, resand and stain without the Prestain in order for the stain to take.

[@acollins903]

Had someone that supposedly knew how to stain do my floors. They put stain down on my floor with a paint roller and didn't wipe up the stain and didn't sand the floor first like they said they would. The floors are sticky all over. What should I do to get that stain off? Should I use a stripper?

[@canonman223]

Our contractor stained our wood floor and there are a few spots that are too light. It looks like it didn’t get enough stain possibly. The finish has already been applied and the floor is dry now but is there anything that can be done to darken just those few small lighter spots?

[@MinwaxUSA]

Hi Kristopher, we are sorry to hear that you are not completely satisfied with our product. So that we can better assist you with this matter, please contact our customer support team directly at [e-mail] or by phone at 1-800-523-9299. Thank you!

[@MUDSWAT]

Wish I knew this before I had to strip a finished stain and urethane back down to the wood. Only to get splotches again on the 2nd full job, F*#@! I can't strip it a 2nd time!!

[@cali6950]

This is happening to me right now.

[@MinwaxUSA]

Hi Tibby, If you'd like, our customer support team can help you out with the best recommendation for your project. Feel free to contact us directly at [e-mail] or by phone at 1-800-523-9299. Thank you!

[@eprofessio]

Minwax stain is so strong smelling I am wondering if I ruined my property by using it on my floors. Looks great though.

[@rhoadsmatheson2246]

Don't worry about that my friend.. the smell won't last very long, I use it a lot. Hope this eases your mind.

[@jaynafrederick7731]

I had my cabinets stained when we built my house. The builder did a bad job on it. Part of my cabinet looks good but it looks like they came back and touched up and did not stir the stain very well before applying the touch up, so the touch up is dull, compared to the other stain. How do you fix this? Do you have to sand it and restain the cabinet?

[@MinwaxUSA]

Hi Jayna, We'd love to speak with you about your project to ensure we're getting you the best recommendation possible. So that we can better assist you with this matter, please contact us directly at [e-mail] or by phone at 1-800-523-9299. Thank you!

[@VashStarwind]

Is a pre-stain conditioner the same thing as a wood sealer?

[@MinwaxUSA]

Hi there! While a wood conditioner serves as a pre-stain treatment to minimize blotchiness when staining, a sanding sealer is exclusively applied to bare wood that won't undergo staining. Hope this helps!

[@VashStarwind]

@@MinwaxUSA Thanks

[@tawny6290]

How long does it take for the smell to go away? I stained my cabinets while living in my house which I didn’t realize was such a bad idea. I used oil based minwax stain. It’s been 24 hours the smell is still lingering how long will this last??

[@MinwaxUSA]

Hi Tawny. The product will still have an odor as it is drying/curing, and this time frame will be longer for oil-based products. The full cure is 30 days but the odor may dissipate before that time. The best way to make sure the odor will dissipate is to have adequate ventilation in the room. You can also put baking soda or charcoal briquettes in the area to help absorb the odor.

[@roughlyEnforcing]

is that conditioner oil or water-based?

[@MinwaxUSA]

Hi Jeffrey, it is oil-based! We recommend using oil-based conditioner with oil-based stain and water-based conditioner with water-based stain.

[@paulagoodpaster3799]

How do you fix the blotches if you didn’t know about the pre-stain

[@MinwaxUSA]

Hi Paula, We'd love to chat with you about your project to get you the best recommendation. So that we can better assist you with this matter, please contact our customer support team directly at [e-mail] or by phone at 1-800-523-9299. Thank you!

[@raycimbalnik5159]

I stripped,sanded,used proper pre stain and still having to apply 3 or more coats of stain with 5 or more days in-between and when applying the final coat it seems to remove the previous coat. Any suggestions from anyone???? I'm not an expert but have refinished wood items with great success before but am at a total loss on this one. Idk if it matters but I'm attempting to restain veneer speaker cabinets so I really can't re sand. Thinking of pulling the old veneer off and getting new in the color I want

[@MinwaxUSA]

Hi, Ray! We'd love to speak with you about your project to ensure we're getting you the best recommendation possible. So that we can better assist you with this matter, please contact us directly at [e-mail] or by phone at 1-800-523-9299. Thank you

[@kle2217]

I stained my pine wood table top too dark and there is lint in the finish? Best way to remove the lint after the stain has dried , and perhaps lighten the stain a little?

[@MinwaxUSA]

Hi, So that we can better assist you with this matter, please contact us directly at [e-mail] or by phone at 1-800-523-9299. Regard, Minwax Customer Support.

[@kennymiller4790]

Do you need to apply pre-stain before every new coat of stain?

[@MinwaxUSA]

Hi Kenny, The pre-stain should be applied before the first coat and does not need to be applied after this.

[@twally4966]

I used that pre stain, my table is not excepting stain in spots. Please help

[@MinwaxUSA]

Hi Thomas, We'd love the opportunity to speak with you about your process to get you the best recommendation possible. So that we can better assist you with this matter, please contact us directly at [e-mail] or by phone at 1-800-523-9299. Thank you!

[@jayme5872]

do you have to wipe off the wood conditioner after 15 min before applying stain?

[@MinwaxUSA]

Hi Jayme, Allow the Pre-Stain Wood Conditioner to penetrate for 5 to 15 minutes, then remove any excess with a clean, dry cloth.

[@akramkhokhar2469]

my wood pre stain condioner is five years old atroom temp is that still good to use

[@MinwaxUSA]

Hi Akram, There are a lot of variables that could affect the product. We recommend testing it out on a sample piece of wood first before using it on your project.

[@D-_.]

Sir I just finished making 2 level tv stand table, the 3rd after it painted-coat I put them together. Dont know how the next day the leg of 2nd table already stick, and when I pull it, it leave scratch and it sticky. Is there any way to remove it please

[@MinwaxUSA]

Hi David, We'd love to speak with you directly about your project to get you the best solution possible. So that we can better assist you with this, please contact us directly at [e-mail] or by phone at 1-800-523-9299. Thank you, Minwax Customer Support.

[@mikeyb7786]

Water popping works just as well

[@jnooney8225]

Some good tips, but you didn't say (1) whether you were using water or oil-based stain. (2) There is a wide difference between oil-based stains and water-based stains. Which one are you demonstrating? (3) Why doesn't the natural resin do the same thing as a wood conditioner? Why take the first one off and then put the other one on?

[@MinwaxUSA]

Hey there! Thanks for reaching out. The stain used here is the Wood Finish Oil Based Stain. The label has been updated since the video was posted 4 years ago, and the can does state "premium oil" to prevent any confusion. The Prestain is not a resin, it helps to fill in the pores but still allows the stain to penetrate and add color. We primarily recommend it on soft woods since those pores are larger to help with color uniformity. The resin will prevent the stain from penetrating which is why we suggest removing it. Hope this helps, please let us know if you have any other questions.

[@mikespence286]

I stained my inside doors and added a polyurethane finish. They looked good but 6 months later white streaks showed up. I resanded, stained and polyerethaned them again and the same thing happened. Any one got any ideas as to what is going on?

[@MinwaxUSA]

Hi Mike, We are sorry to hear that you are not completely satisfied with our product. So that we can better assist you with this matter, please contact us directly at [e-mail] or by phone at 1-800-523-9299. Thank you!

[@kimberly4441]

I applied wood stain but it’s too dark and looks bad. How can I fix this?

[@mikeyb7786]

Sand it again

[@SkyfalconTin]

Should i wear mask when handling wood stain?

[@wandadunn2712]

Used so much stripper on the wood the stain looks dull

[@MinwaxUSA]

Hi Wanda, We'd love to chat with you to find the best solution. So that we can better assist you with this matter, please contact us directly at [e-mail] or by phone at 1-800-523-9299

[@tsudheshna]

I stained my oak project after proper sanding. Still see some blotches especially in swirled fashion. Can I sand and apply prestain to apply my second coat of stain?

[@MinwaxUSA]

Hi there! So that we can better assist you with this matter, please contact us directly at [e-mail] or by phone at 1-800-523-9299. Have a great week! Minwax Customer Support

[@Anry_V]

Why didn't you use the conditioner on the same board as the stain to show the difference? The demonstration on another species of wood does not mean anything.

[@Tinyteacher1111]

Other videos show it, and I’m proof that it works! I did a back piece without conditioner and then conditioned the rest, and it was totally different!

[@ming60640]

I used pre-stain conditioner per the instructions and it still ended up with horrible splotches.

[@MinwaxUSA]

Hi there, We'd love to speak with you about the details of your project to get you the best recommendation. So that we can better assist you with this matter, please contact us directly at [e-mail] or by phone at 1-800-523-9299. Thank you!

[@ringonordstrom692]

Didn't you notice how an actual demonstration of the product in this video did not occur. Other videos mention that pre-conditioners help "some" but don't solve blotchiness in many cases.

[@ashleyallen6479]

I pretreated, then stained within the time frame and still splotchy =(

[@teandrahewittdunse7247]

Same. No matter what I do it won’t even out. I resanded, re-pre-treated, and restained. Same turn out. So aggravated 🤬

[@MinwaxUSA]

Hi Teandra, We'd love to speak with you to get you the best solution possible. So that we can better assist you with this matter, please contact us directly at [e-mail] or by phone at 1-800-523-9299. Thank you.

[@ccccen]

Bruce here is good at staining but nothing on glue, he has never said anything about glue, he doesn't gets paid by Titebond glue corp.

[@ccccen]

Why always talk about how the stain comes out, why not talk about you finding a glue that will accept stains ????????????

[@whitehh15]

Glue? why are you staining glue? Sand it off

[@ccccen]

Not all sanding gets to all the glue, been there done that. We wood workers need a glue that can be covered by the staining. Here we are ready for Mars and yet not a glue as such lol. I just put enough to reach the edge of the work piece without the over fill as if the glue was for free.

[@whitehh15]

@@ccccen Lol, that's a good point. I've been conservative with glue when I know I'm going to use stain for that very reason. I would consider myself a beginner wood worker at best, so it's good to get your perspective.

[@ccccen]

Just a while ago I picked a piece from here, put masking tape on both sides before gluing and as they squeeze together, it will be over flow on the tapes. my working trick is to spare the amount to the center of the board but not enough to squeeze out completely. If it does runs out I use a warm wet towel and clean it up fast before it dries.

[@whitehh15]

@@ccccen good call. I just glued up a bar top and I made sure the glue wouldn't squeeze out at all. It still came out incredibly strong, and I reinforced the bottom with some tie plates anyway, so it worked out nicely. I'll definitely try out the masking tape if I'm not going to use tie plates in the future

[@LarryBinFL]

So basically you just regurgitated the can instructions. 👎

[@MinwaxUSA]

Hi DK, For success, we do recommend using oil-based pre-stain conditioner with oil-based stain, and water-based pre-stain conditioner with water-based stain. If you've already applied the pre-stain, feel free to contact us directly so that we can help you through this project at [e-mail] or by phone at 1-800-523-9299. Thank you!