Anyone used ZAR stain

[Creekbuster]

I'm looking for some user info on Zar stain. Is it worth the extra money. I'm planning using it on Oak to darken it up some.

[Leon]

I have used it. IMHO you cannot spend too much on a quality stain. It is thicker than the typical stain.

[David]

funny you should ask. I just stained a project with it last night. (Actually I used it to fill in light pores on some dye stained red oak.) I use it instead of that horrible smelling, slow drying Minwhacks crap. It's pretty good. It is much thicker than most stains and works well. Drying time is 1 day, max. There are plenty of colors to choose from.

Dave

[Jim]

Only you know whether it is worth the extra money to you. I only use ZAR. It dries very fast. Jim

[aswr]

I am a big fan of Zar products. IMHO well worth the money on quality work.

Mike

[Swingman]

IME, it is a high quality stain thast is consistent from can to can. It's the only stain I use on the oak furniture I make for myself ... the "114 Provincial" works nicely without going too dark for my taste.

[Baron]

Zar is pigment stain that has an oil-based binder. It, of course, behaves differently that a dye stain or a pigment / dye stain mixture. If you like Zar, you might want to consider Benjamin-Moore interior stain, Tripp, Old Masters, Colony, or Red Devil. These are all oil-based binder pigment stains. Interestingly, some MinWax stains are just pigment, like Cherry, as opposed to their Puritan Pine (dye), or their Special Walnut (pigment / dye). I believe Olympic and General Finishes are pigment stains but I do not know if they use an oil-based binder.

Good Luck.

[Creekbuster]

[Leon]

One other think to keep in mind when using a new brand, or color for that matter. Always test the new brand/color on a scrap before risking your project. And with all the money and time you put into a project the finish you apply is not a place to start cutting corners. The better brand stains and finishes will most often make your work look like a pro did the work. With most brands sold in home centers you have a 50/50 chance of a good result IMHO.

[Ba r r y]

Minwax Golden Oak is all dye. It's the only Minwax color I like.

Barry

[PC Paul]

We all are.

[Ron Truitt]

I used it once and found it to be excellent. Much thicker and of higher quality than the borg's stuff. But I had a hard time finding it after the first time.

RonT

[Leon]

FYI I typically find Zar at the local Better hardware stores.

[Ron Truitt]

In the Austin Texas area most of the hardware stores are out or going out of business due to the invasion by Walmart and the borgs.

Georgetown just lost one that had been in business for over 100 years and another that had been going for decades. Too bad. If they had it they were alot faster to deal with and they always carried things no one else did.

RonT

[David]

that must make it tough to find hardware, because I was just in a Walmart tonight and they don't really have that much in the way of hardware. just a few odds and ends. HD covers that genre in a fair to middling sort of way. I don't know how a store with so many square feet can still not have what I'm looking for, but as often as not, they DON'T!

Dave

[Swingman]

Damn if I'm not suddenly having trouble finding ZAR Wood Stains here in Houston. Had to drive all over town to find it (Sherwin-Williams off N. Gessner seems to be the only S-W left in town that carries it, Berings no longer carries it, and nor do any of the Ace Hardwares I called).

Like everything else, 2nd rate crap is ubiquitos, quality harder to find ... and at $3/gallon/10mpg city in the truck, a 30 mile round trip is adding a lot to the price.