Internal Door needs staining/varnishing

vonnyh

Hi,

I've recently had a light oak internal door fitted, and I'm unsure what stain/varnish I should use on it. I've looked at the Wickes website and I'm confused as to the difference between stain and varnish. I want the original colour of the wood to stay the same, and I don't want it to be too "shiny". Do I need to buy a stain and a varnish, or is there an all-in-one product I can buy? Thanks for your help. Here's a pic of the door, if that helps.

http://www.wickes.co.uk/Interior-Hardwood-Doors/York-Contemporary-3-Light-Glazed-Door/invt/187502&temp=largeimage&layout=popups

helping_hubby

I thought varnish was the shiny stuff. I've used stain on my front door. It sort of soaks into the wood.

I prefer stain to varnish. But everyone has their own opinions.

horsechestnut

Stain changes the colour of the wood.
Varnish is to protect the wood.
You can do both.
However, if you want to keep the colour of the wood then you just need to varnish the door.
If you don't want it to be "shiny" then buy matt or silk finish. Personally I like silk finish.
Some places show you the product finish on a piece of wood so you can see what it looks like when it is on the wood and dry.

latecomer

You can also get hard wax oil products such as the Osmo Prolyx which we are looking at for our flooring.

Metranil_Vavin

I'm in the process of varnishing our internal Victorian pine doors.

Fortunately they're unpainted but in various states of varnish and pretty grubby.

OH sanded the living room one down last weekend and I varnished it yesterday, just done the 2nd coat. I used Ronseal interior satin varnish in Antique Pine. It gives the wood a nice natural stain and isn't shiny, just a silky finish.

Looks really nice.