What colour stain to finish my table?

terrig582

I'm looking for a stain close to the second picture to finish my table and chairs in the first picture. Also would like suggestions about the best way to finish the table. I've read a lot of different things about stains, varnish and everything else. Any help would be appreciated, thank you!

JacobZ

Hi @terrig582,

A warm welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community and thank you for your question.

I'll start by asking if you are aware of what species of timber has been used on your table and chairs.

Different species of timber can react differently to stains, so it's important to take the characteristics of the timber into consideration when selecting a product. Unfortunately, due to this fact, it is tricky to colour-match stains. 

There is a helpful Step-by-Step Colour Guide on Cabot's website that you can use to select the colours closest to what you see. As I am working off of photos, it is difficult to say what works best, so I'd suggest you run through the steps in the colour guide and see what works best.

In terms of product, I'd suggest checking out Cabot's range of stain and varnish. They come both oil and water-based and in a variety of colours. Oil-based products will penetrate the timber deeper, and be hardier long-term, but they produce more fumes, are a little harder to work with and they dry slower. Water-based stains don't penetrate as deeply, but they produce much less fumes and are usually easier to work with.

My suggestion is to select the colour you deem closest to what you are looking for and do a test run on the underside of the table or chairs before committing to the full surface. 

Check out How To Stain An Indoor Table and How To Restore Wooden Furniture for some further guidance.

Let me know what you think and if you have further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Jacob