You can get a lighter color by not having much on the cloth and then
removing it immediately, but it is darn hard to get a consistant color that
way. Much better to buy the right color.

If it were an oil stain you could just dilute it with oil. I don't know
about water based stains, as I have never used them.

Matt in Fenton wrote in message
...
A thought about thinning:

I'll try this tomorrow, but it might be possible to achieve the same
effect that I'm looking for by simply wiping on and then immediately
wiping off. Doing this after the can has been thoroughly mixed.

This may come down to a "timing" thing instead of buying a different
product in order to achieve this different result.

Oh, I should add after rereading my initial message that it sounds as
if I thought you can use stain immediately from the can, that isn't
true, I usually stir with a paint stick.

On Mon, 26 Mar 2007 03:02:07 GMT, "Toller" wrote:

Some "stains" are actually dyes and stains. If you don't mix them the
stain
goes to the bottom and you only get the dye. Apparently you like it that
way.

Dyes are available at woodworking shops.

If you hadn't referred to "water" later on I would have suggested that
perhaps you liked the effect of the oil base. Oil will significantly
change
the appearance of some woods.

Matt in Fenton wrote in message
. ..

I bought some stain today and was trying it out on a piece of pine. I
didn't thoroughly mix the can because I was in a hurry and just wanted
to see what the color looked like, so I opened the can and wiped some
on.

I let it sit for less than a minute and wiped it off. Needless to say
it was MUCH lighter version than what was pictured on the can. But the
thing is I really liked the effect of this vs. a rich stained color.
It was more like tinting the wood instead of staining it (which serves
to color the wood).

I tried a google search on wood tints, but only came up with wood
stain. (How to tint wood didn't lend itself to anything either)

Is there a product out there that tints a wood instead of actually
staining it?

And if not can I thin the water based stains with water in order to
get the same effect (after they have been thoroughly mixed)?

It's rare that NOT doing things right let's you stumble on to
something good. This is one of those occasions.

Thanks,

matt