General Finishes Oil Base Gel Stain, 1 Pint, Antique Walnut

This is a perfect brown stain color. I didn't want my pieces to be black, like the Java gel stain seems to be. I wanted the gorgeous wood grain to still be visible, and I am thrilled with how it turned out. I purchased brown mahogany first because some reviews said it was just a step lighter than Java. I was very disappointed that it was WAY more red than Java. I was not wanting any red tone at all, so I bought Antique Walnut. I ended up doing one coat Brown Mahogany, two coats Antique Walnut and I love the way it turned out. I want to make it clear that the pictures I have attached are of that combination- 1 coat brown mahogany, 2 coats antique walnut. It took some serious tweaking, but well worth it. I gave it a go on a solid oak table my dad made and was passing on to me. I sanded it and two benches down with a 120 grit sandpaper and used the "foam brush- shop cloth wipe off" method. It was a disaster. It was splotchy and looked terrible. Turns out it wasn't my application method that was awful, it was the condition of my wood. After contacting General Finishes customer service, and also posting on a woodworking community board I found my problem was that my dad had previously finished the table/benches with Danish oil. I had not sanded down deep enough to get rid of that oil (same goes if the wood has been treated with Pledge or certain other things they list). It was recommended on the woodworking board to start sanding with 60 grit and work my way up all the way to 220 grit. I wiped the surface down with mineral spirits first, as suggested on the General Finishes video. The stain went on like BUTTER and looks absolutely gorgeous!! I used the sock method this time and it's SO much better than the foam brush method. No need to wipe off with cloth after, and it goes on so smoothly!! A little goes a long way. I will absolutely buy General Finishes gel stain for every staining project I do from now on!!! The pictures I attached are of one of the finished benches. One coat Brown Mahogany, 2 coats Antique Walnut. You can see in one of the pictures the other bench to the left in progress. The bottom legs of that bench are the original sanded-down oak. Once everything has been stained, I will finish it later with the General Finishes Arm-R-Seal which has been amazing on other pieces I have refinished.

The dreamiest color of browns! I used this gel for my very heavy wood console table. (Aka rail road ties) applying this to this kind of wood was super easy. I did use two coats to get the red tone out of the wood. It seals good, apply’s smooth. And it actually drys quickly! The gel is medium thickness but not like paint. Worth the price, good quality product! Have re-ordered more than twice!

The pics on the left are the start of the project. I have a beautiful antique table that I love, but it has seen better days. Namely, my kids have scratched it up, left tape marks, used permanent marker and ballpoint pens on it, and have left it in less than presentable shape. I decided to DIY fix the table and stumbled on a blog that recommended this product. I’m very pleased with the final results. The paint can and will go on very matte if you’re not careful. If you like the look of natural wood, make sure to use a VERY light coat. I only needed paint to spruce up the table and enhance the beauty it already possessed, so I treated the paint like a natural makeup. No lines of demarcation. No thick application. Just a nice thin layer to enhance natural beauty. I’m very pleased with the results. Since it’s super humid in the South right now, I had to bring the table inside to finish drying as it was basically out there crying in the garage. Doggone paint just wouldn’t dry even after two days. It dried within a couple of hours once I moved it inside. The paint fumes are bad only while it’s wet. Once it dried, my house returned to its usual baked bread smell. My only complaint is that the finish almost feels sticky. Like I couldn’t even slide a piece of paper across the top without it catching and skipping on the surface. This is a really great paint for heavy duty projects, but just know it leaves a sticky texture on the surface of your projects behind.

I’m that person… You know the person that goes on YouTube and watches reviews reads them… and then reads them again. So, I had my doubts. One lady surely gave me my doubts but I think she painted WAY to large of s area and then went back to “wipe” it down. Don’t be that lady. Work is small sections and read the can how to mate the sections together. The videos defiantly helped me. I have a 70’s house with exposed beams and a fireplace mantel that somewhere over the years people thought it would be a good idea to paint this ugly yellowing cream color. I’ve been looking at it for five years now trying to decide how I was going to fix it. First option was to sand it down and re-stain it back to a natural color but honestly, I didn’t want to do that with the high beams. Second was to just take it all down and replace it but again that wasn’t something I was in the budget for. With this darn virus taking place I needed a project to keep my mind off it and keep me busy. So, I took the plunge and bought it in Antique Walnut. I sanded lightly (with a power sander- because i'm lazy) and vacuumed and dusted it all very well before I applied the product. Used a foam sponge to apply and then I used a paper towel to remove the extra. Not exactly how the can said… but I couldn’t be happier with the way it brought my fireplace mantle back. I think the only thing I may have done different was use a lighter color. I have dark brown woodwork and brick in the house. As you can see in the pictures the next step is to paint the walls lighter and of course the beams. Should had also mentioned that this is only one coat and no sealer. I read that high touch areas will need the sealing but I didn’t think I would require that. Oh and one other thing... I was an idiot and lazy and didn't tape off the brick. I never tape when I paint because i'm actually better with an edger. Anyhow... this isn't something you can clean off a surface very easy. I didn't wear gloves either but got it off with some body scrub. Don't be that lady. ;-) UPDATE: Round two I did the beams that were painted in my living room. I went straight lazy with this project won't lie. I didn't sand, I didn't dust. I just took a stiff paint brush and brushed the stuff on and i'm just thrilled with how it turned out. Like 1,000 times better than the ugly pant that was on there. 10 /10 WOULD RECOMMEND

I bought 45 years-old dining chairs from a neighbor. I decided to use General Finishes Gel Stain because I read all great reviews. First 2 pics are before I stained them. 3rd, 4th pic are after 2 coats of gel stain and 3 coats of General Finishes Gel top coat satin. Antique Walnut color made those chairs look new. YES, you don't have to sand. I cleaned all chairs with water/dish soap, wipe it dry. I used foam blush and wipe off with shop rug. 2 coat of gel stain made the chairs really beautiful. Then I applied Gel Topcoat Satin. I notice some of lint from shop rug, so I applied Gel topcoat with foam blush again and did not wipe off for 3rd coat. Important tip: you have to wait at least 24 hours or more after each coat of stain. Especially when you stain over existing stain. You don't want to rush, the surface needed to be complete dry before 2nd coat. I waited longer (3 days) for between coat for Gel Topcoat. It took more dry time than gel stain. But I am really happy for the result. I would recommend this product.

General Finishes Gel Stain is one of the best products I have purchased. We wanted to update the look of our hundred-year-old house and one of the projects was re-staining the oak baseboards and doors as well as the window and door frames. The gel stain has a thick consistency, almost like pudding, but it is easy to apply. We followed advises that I could find on Pinterest and it worked like a charm! Good cleaning, followed by light sanding and stain application will give you an amazing result, and you don’t have to be an expert in staining! I recommend using a sock versus a foam brush – it worked better for me, and I had more control over application of the stain. Just remember to use glove underneath the sock! I used a water based General Finishes Poly as a top coat and it worked great. This is an amazing product, which is easy to use and gives incredible results. One issue we had this time around was delivery. Our product came half opened and some of the stain was spilled inside of the package.

Oh my gosh!!!!! This stuff is amazing! I was a little sceptical at first but I put my faith in General Finishes to give my kitchen a uplift. My kitchen was stuck in the 1970's. This was my process.... 1. I cleaned the cabinets 2x with denatured alcohol over 1 day. 2. I used the wipe on method so there was no brush strokes. I used cotton tea shirt squares I purchase off of Amazon as well. I wiped a liberal amount on the cabinets.... Mind you I did not take the doors off. It worked great. The product is thick and does not drip easily. 3. After the 1st coat I let dry over night. 4. Time for the 2nd coat. During this application I allowed the gel stain to be thicker in the creases and crevices of the cabinets to give it a glazed affect. 5. Let that coat dry over night. 6. I used General Finishes Arm-R-Seal in satin. I used the same wipe on method but not took thick. It does run and can cause drips. 7. I let the Arm-R-Seal dry for 24 hrs. Yes 24 hrs.... Don't skip this step!!!! Let the varnish dry completely. If not you top coat will chip off☹️ 8. Applied 2 more coats with 24 hrs in between. Per the recommendation of General Finishes Arm-R-Seal should have no more than 3 coats. I did not sand between coats.... (I hate sanding) 9. All done!!!! I purchased 3 cans of the walnut gel stain and 1 gal of the Arm-R-Seal. I bought WAY too much. My cabinets required only 1 can of the stain. As far as the Arm-R-Seal I only used 2.5 cups.... Literally..... This product in my opinion goes a long way. These products can not be returned through Amazon due to the oil base. So don't make theistake I did and buy 3-4 times the amount needed for your project. Even though I bought too much I can used this stuff for other projects later. Just make sure you store the cans upside down so air can not leak in...... I hope this review helps with your decision. I know there is not at a lot of pictures of the walnut finish. Here are my before and after pictures of the kitchen.

I love this product. It is a thick gel so it goes on so easily. I also love that you can make the color transparent to a darker brown just by applying more and by how much you wipe off. I got the smaller size and I am glad I did. I used it for many projects, from stair railings to porch studs to flooring and they all came out beautifully. The only downside was I had it about 8 months and when I tried to use it for the next project it was solidified (this was a prior can so I bought this can to replace the older one). Regardless, it is so worth the money and it produces a beautiful stain. Would definitely recommend it to anyone looking to stain.