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