America's Leading Manufacturer of Innovative Water-Based Wood Finishes
Gel Stain can be mixed with up to 50% Liquid Oil Stain but be aware that this will thin the viscosity.
We recommend starting with 10% Liquid Oil Stain and testing to your satisfaction. Add more Liquid Stain as needed up to 50%. The mix will be thin and more translucent with less color saturation and intensity, but will not lose any of its properties for adhesion and curing.
Gel Stain gets its deep rich hue from a large amount of colorants. Seal the stain with a topcoat before applying glaze to prevent "color pull" when applying glaze.
Our recommendation to fix white cabinets that have yellowed is to do a thorough sanding and precleaning and recoat with the following products:
Yes - we recommend adding up to 10% mineral spirits. You can add more mineral spirits, but test first. The mixture will thin out quickly. Using more than 10% can affect the performance and durability of the finish, but as a glaze, this is not as critical an issue because your topcoat will protect the finish.
Click on the first photo and follow along with this photo tutorial as we finish a walnut table with 1 coat of Java Gel Stain over Nutmeg Gel Stain. Completed with 3 coats of Gel Satin Topcoat. Table design by John Harryman.
We love this step-by-step video by OrganizedClutterbug about how she used General Finishes Gel Stain to refinish her kitchen cabinets! Please note, this video was not created by General Finishes, nor is it our professional recommendation for application method, but it is creative!
In this tutorial video Chris Adams and "celebrity guest" Holly Haguewood of Drabs2Fabs show how to glaze a small table with Van Dyke Brown
ANSWER: You can design your own custom glazes, washes and varnishes with General Finishes intermixable water based products. See tips and recipes below:
GF Tip: For all of the following mixes, GF recommends the following two steps:
GF advises extra care and prep when applying any finish over laminate surfaces because they are specifically designed not to mar and therefore they are not very "sand-able", making adherence difficult.
In addition to this non-permeable surface factor, General Finishes Gel Stain is an oil-based product, and it is more difficult to obtain proper drying characteristics over a dense manufactured surface such as laminate. Gel stains, as all wood stains, were formulated to go over raw wood which has an "open" surface and can absorb some of the stain.
You can design your own custom glazes, stains, washes, and varnishes with General Finishes intermixable water-based products. **Do not mix General Finishes Glaze Effects with General Finishes Water Based Stain (including Pre-Stain Natural) See tips and recipes below.
For all of the following mixes, GF recommends the following two steps:
Enduro Water-Based Conversion Varnish
Enduro Water Based Stain Blocker Primer
Enduro Water-Based Tintable 2K White Poly
Enduro Water-Based Pro Series White Polyurethane
Hard Wax Oil & Hardener
Gel Stains
Water-Based Wood Stain
Pro Image Flooring Topcoat
Jen Poly Brushes
Stir Stix
Ultraflex Softback Sanding Sponge
TDS: Oil Based Gel Stain - 2020-03
