On Tuesday, November 7, 2017 at 1:12:14 PM UTC, Dan S. MacAbre wrote:
The first time I did the front door, maybe 20 years ago, the wood stain
I got was like a sort of dark varnish. It looked great, with a nice,
even glossy finish. Doing it again more recently, I find that the
stain, although sold as gloss, is more like satin; it dries quickly and
becomes opaque (which makes it harder for me to get an even finish). It
is water-based, which might explain some of this. It looks okay, but
I'm already thinking of when I might do it again. Have I just bought
the wrong stuff, or is it all like this nowadays? I think it's Ronseal,
although I don't have it to hand. Is this one of those 'a triumph of
marketing over quality' issues?

Water based stain is the spawn of the devil It dries too quick for its flow characteristics