Old Masters 80208, 1 Pint, Golden Oak, 16 Fl Oz

I've been using this brand and other gel stains for many years. What's great about gel is that it sits on the surface, so it's a great choice for non-absorbent woods like oak. And on more absorbent woods like pine, you'll get more even color than you would with a liquid stain. Also, the end grain won't get extremely dark like it does with liquid. You can apply with a bristle brush, a foam brush, or a cloth. For best results, fold up a cotton cloth (old t-shirts are excellent) into a pad. You're better off doing two thin coats instead of one thin coat. The instructions say you can use a water-pased polyurethane on top of this stain, but I get the best finish with oil-based poly.

This stain goes a long way and is easy to work with. Applied with an old t-shirt to items for even coating and no mess or spillage.

NOT Golden Oak, more like muddy YELLOW OAK. Disgusting. Can't use it , can't return it.

I tried to use this stain on a restoration. I had sanded down to bare wood on very light (almost white) oak. While I love gel stains in general, I have to give this one a thumbs down as the result was far more yellow/amber than golden. Ended up using golden pecan from MinWax and was very pleased with the genuine golden glow that it gave to the oak. That said, it was a perfectly good stain, just not the tone or hue that I was after in a "golden" stain.

Breathes new life into old scratched and faded stained wood

This stuff stays on the paint brush or rag or whatever you're using. It's gel so it doesn't run. I can wipe off if it's too dark or add more if I want it darker. It matches my kitchen cabinets perfectly, as well as my wood floor and bathroom cabinets. Won't go back to regular stain.

Color matched exactly the adjacent wood-grain fiberglass door. Applied with a foam brush and no streaks! Stain blends in well too.

Auto correct said stinky, it's not wrong. Mixed well with a little red mahogany of the same brand and stained some pine to match some oak with heavy patina.