Stain & varnish advice

[Peter]

I have 20 pine internal doors to stain and varnish in my house. Should I use water or spirit based stain?

Also will the choice influence which varnish type I should use?

Finally, if I can get the right colour, is there any disadvantage is using a coloured varnish?

Peter

[Jerry Built]

Spirit, e.g. "Colron" for sure. It will sink in to the timber rather than coat the surface.

Not really - although if you're using acrylic varnish make sure the stain fully dries.

Very much so. It chips and then white shows through. It obscures the timber grain.

J.B.