I have never used McCloskey's. I have used truckloads of Minwax and have a
love hate relationship. I run a finishing shop for a large unfinished furniture
retailer. Unfinished furniture varies greatly in quaility in wood selection and
contruction. Minwax is great on oak and properly dried pine. On aspen, cherry,
and maple mixwax tends to be blotchy and uneven.
Recently I was turned onto Zar wood stain. It is made by UGL out of Scranton
PA. It is quite a bit thicker than Minwax but not as thick as gell stains.
Their catch phrase is "controlled penitration," and I have found this to be
true even on Aspen. Now for the good news, It is much faster drying than
Minwax, I have used shellac over Zar with as little as 6 hours dry time. Now
the better news, I have it on good authority from my UGL rep. that the entire
line of Zar stains and top coats will soon dry in 2 hours. The label will not
change right away to allow for the old inventory to sell. He told me to look
for a QD (quick dry) on the lid. Check out UGL.com to find a retailer. They do
not sell their wood finish line in home centers, as they like to support small
business.
I hope you try and like this product as much as I do.
Brian.
Thanks Brian. I will look to see who carries it. The name is vaguely
familiar. I just picked up some Dri Fast Bonakemi stain at a local
wholesaler and this time they got a little pissy about selling retail,
so I need a fall back plan for finding good stains. 'preciate your info.
dave
BRFordJr wrote:
> I have never used McCloskey's. I have used truckloads of Minwax and have a
> love hate relationship. I run a finishing shop for a large unfinished furniture
> retailer. Unfinished furniture varies greatly in quaility in wood selection and
> contruction. Minwax is great on oak and properly dried pine. On aspen, cherry,
> and maple mixwax tends to be blotchy and uneven.
> Recently I was turned onto Zar wood stain. It is made by UGL out of Scranton
> PA. It is quite a bit thicker than Minwax but not as thick as gell stains.
> Their catch phrase is "controlled penitration," and I have found this to be
> true even on Aspen. Now for the good news, It is much faster drying than
> Minwax, I have used shellac over Zar with as little as 6 hours dry time. Now
> the better news, I have it on good authority from my UGL rep. that the entire
> line of Zar stains and top coats will soon dry in 2 hours. The label will not
> change right away to allow for the old inventory to sell. He told me to look
> for a QD (quick dry) on the lid. Check out UGL.com to find a retailer. They do
> not sell their wood finish line in home centers, as they like to support small
> business.
> I hope you try and like this product as much as I do.
> Brian.
Dave, I have never heard of McCloskey's stain or any of their products, but
odds are that it will be superior to any Minwax products.
"Bay Area Dave" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Now that I know a nearby store carries McCloskey's stain, I'd like to
> know if it's way better than Minwax. I don't like Minwax much. I want
> something faster drying. I like Bonakemi's stain, but the store is
> distant and they have few colors. I'm interested in the oil based
> stains. TIA
>
> dave
>
"bob" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Okay, I'm learning something here. I've used Minwax for years. I don't
> have anything to compare it to - it's what the borg carries - I've never
> shopped anywhere else for stain. Someone please explain why these other
> brands are superior. I might need to find a better supplier...
Most apply with a rag more consistently even and easier.
<g> you've got a point there, Leon. What brand do you use when you need
an oil based stain?
dave
Leon wrote:
> Dave, I have never heard of McCloskey's stain or any of their products, but
> odds are that it will be superior to any Minwax products.
>
>
> "Bay Area Dave" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
>>Now that I know a nearby store carries McCloskey's stain, I'd like to
>>know if it's way better than Minwax. I don't like Minwax much. I want
>>something faster drying. I like Bonakemi's stain, but the store is
>>distant and they have few colors. I'm interested in the oil based
>>stains. TIA
>>
>>dave
>>
>
>
>
when time is a factor, you do NOT want to use Minwax. applying a seal
coat must be delayed (drying time varies with temp, application, blah,
blah blah) compared to some of the superior stains that have been
mentioned on this thread. I personally haven't used any of the better
ones except for Bonakemi Dri Fast which is top notch. Dries fast, just
like the name, goes on evenly, and doesn't have the annoying, nose
irritating (to me, anyway) smell that Minwax has. I don't know if the
brands the other fellas use are fast drying like Bonakemi. We'll let
them chime in on that score.
dave
bob wrote:
> Okay, I'm learning something here. I've used Minwax for years. I don't
> have anything to compare it to - it's what the borg carries - I've never
> shopped anywhere else for stain. Someone please explain why these other
> brands are superior. I might need to find a better supplier...
>
> Thanks.
>
> Bob
>
> "Bay Area Dave" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
>>Now that I know a nearby store carries McCloskey's stain, I'd like to
>>know if it's way better than Minwax. I don't like Minwax much. I want
>>something faster drying. I like Bonakemi's stain, but the store is
>>distant and they have few colors. I'm interested in the oil based
>>stains. TIA
>>
>>dave
>>
>
>
>
General Finishes, Zar, or Bartleys.
"Bay Area Dave" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> <g> you've got a point there, Leon. What brand do you use when you need
> an oil based stain?
>
> dave
>
> Leon wrote:
>
> > Dave, I have never heard of McCloskey's stain or any of their products,
but
> > odds are that it will be superior to any Minwax products.
Okay, I'm learning something here. I've used Minwax for years. I don't
have anything to compare it to - it's what the borg carries - I've never
shopped anywhere else for stain. Someone please explain why these other
brands are superior. I might need to find a better supplier...
Thanks.
Bob
"Bay Area Dave" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Now that I know a nearby store carries McCloskey's stain, I'd like to
> know if it's way better than Minwax. I don't like Minwax much. I want
> something faster drying. I like Bonakemi's stain, but the store is
> distant and they have few colors. I'm interested in the oil based
> stains. TIA
>
> dave
>