There was a company that went our of business (Mastercraft) that sold wipe-on gel/poly all-in-one stains in different colors. I am trying to find any company that supplies something like that. I tried Minwax's black gel stain but it is way too glossy.
I have been using Old Master's gel stains for many. They work well for me, dry in a reasonable amount of time and don't muddy when a top coat is appl ied. As a bonus, they are the only one I have found that i have had succes s using when I was staining fiberglass doors to look like wood.
They are very predictable to work with as long as you stir the container WE LL before using it. OM is usually available at paint stores and even some of the upper end hardware stores.
I second nailshooters comment. I have almost exclusively been using gel stains as well as gel varnishes since since 1989. Almost all of the gel stain brands that I have used, Bartleys, Lawrence McFadden, General Finishes, Verithane, Minwax, and OldMasters have a degree of a varnish of some sort mixed in. So for me all have dried with some amount of sheen, unlike most liquid stains. With gels you have low penetration so they need some type of sealer to insure that the clear top coat does not wash the stain away. Don't depend on the gel stain to be the top final coat, it will need to have layers of a clear top coat and the last cleat layer will determine the amount of sheen.
Dave Balderstone wrote in news:220420151057201466% snipped-for-privacy@balderstone.ca:
My experience also. As far as I'm concerned "stain and poly in one" is a shortcut for people who don't want to do the job right, and they get the results they deserve.
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