Varnish, wood oil and wood stain
Looking for the best products to make your wood stand out, or to give it the best possible care? Then you'll find what you need in our broad wood care range.
How do I know if I need varnish, wood oil or wood stain?
Not sure which type of product to pick? Here are the main differences, briefly explained:
- Varnish forms a hard, protective layer on the wood, protecting it from scratches and moisture, but preventing the wood from breathing. Most varnishes are not suitable to use outdoors.
- Stains penetrate the wood and protect it from the inside while leaving the structure visible. They can be either opaque or transparent. Colourless stains exist as well, but they're not recommended as the protection actually comes from the pigments added.
- Oil nourishes the wood, protects it from the inside without forming a film, and preserves the natural look and feel of the wood.
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Choice overload: opaque or transparent stain, or something else?
To make sure you make the best choice for your wooden furniture, we clarify the differences between opaque stain, transparent stain and lacquer. We also explain which treatment is best for your furniture!
Opaque stains
What is an opaque stain?
With opaque stains, you can protect your wooden (garden) furniture and windows and give them a new colour at the same time. This way, you can longer enjoy your wooden furniture and give it a fresh new look as well! Stain soaks into the wood, protecting it even better against moisture damage. An opaque stain ensures that the wood can still breathe. Thus, rain does not penetrate the wood, but the water vapour in the wood can evaporate. If you apply opaque stain to a wood structure, you will still see the grain of the wood through the paint, but only little colour differences. After treating your woodwork with opaque stain, the dark spots in your wood structure will look as light or dark as the rest of the surface.
Transparent stains
What is a transparent stain?
Transparent stains put a coloured filter on your surface. As with opaque stain, the grain and structure of the wood remain visible. Even colour differences that could be seen in the wood beforehand, are still visible, which is not the case with opaque stain. With transparent stain, there is a sort of coloured layer on top of the wood structure, as you can see in the photo below.
In addition, like opaque stain, transparent stain is always permeable to water vapour. In some cases, this vapour permeability is necessary, for instance when there is still moisture in the wood. Before applying a new coat of paint, the moisture in the wood must first be evaporated. If you paint your wood with lacquer paint, the evaporation is no longer possible.
Do you still have questions about what exactly to use for your wood? Or are you still in doubt about which paint, varnish or stain to use? Feel free to contact our experts.
Need more inspiration? 💡
Take a look at our paint project pages, where you'll find ideas, colour inspiration, how-to guides and much more.
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