Essentially you are painting a coat of stain over the top to make it look like darker wood and not completely cover the grain like paint does.
Can you gel stain a floor.
I think one misconception is that you have to strip and sand a piece down to bare wood before you can re stain it.
Gel stain is different from regular stain because it sits on the surface of the furniture instead on absorbing into the wood.
Minwax gel stain is great for non porous verticle surfaces.
I used minwax gel stain in walnut for the floors i applied the stain in staggered areas that way i would not have a straight line going across the boards it blended easier with the other areas.
Like metal or fiberglass doors.
Apply the gel stain wait about 10 minutes and wipe to remove the extra stain.
If you wait too long it is harder to wipe off.
Since laminate isn t real wood and won t absorb anything it s just what you need.
You can even use gel stain as a glaze on finished wood to provide shading and antiquing effects.
You just clean the area apply a the stain to a cloth and rub it into the floor.
But the good news doesn t stop there arguably the best reason to choose gel stain is its ease of use.
Then literally just work in into and onto the wood.
Just dip the rag in the gel stain and wipe onto the stair treads.
I shared the makeover of a mid century modern credenza last week where i used general finishes gel stain over the existing finish on the piece and wanted to share how i did that.
Top protective coats after you have applied the gel stain the last step is to provide a protective top coat to your project unless your gel stain has a protective coating included like a polyurethane.
Sometimes that is necessary but if you have a piece without much of a topcoat sealer poly etc.
So while you might be able to even the color across multiple surfaces the coating would not survive foot traffic.
When it comes to application gel stain requires less preparation in advance than regular.
The more pressure the darker the stain.
You will want to ensure that the first coat is completely cured prior to applying an additional coat of gel stain.
The color is off in these photos because i had the hall and stairway light on you don t even really have to worry about swirl marks applications marks etc as you are applying it.
However the gel stain is not intended for application on floors.