Gel stain, an oil-based choice to fluid wood stain, contains enough urethane you don’t need to employ a top coat, though you can if you would like to have more protection and higher shine. Thicker than fluid stains, gel stains provide immediate gratification to those who prefer to utilize wipe-on colour on bare oak furniture. They are also less cluttered, since they don’t drip like fluid stains, plus they provide a more shade, since they don’t run.
Remove any drawers in the furniture and unscrew the knobs from the drawers. Set the knobs and screws aside.
Put on a dust mask and mud the oak furniture using 180-grit sandpaper, followed by 220-grit sandpaper to open the pores of the oak and allow it to take the gel stain evenly.
Blow the sawdust off using a hair dryer, vacuum cleaner or can of compressed air. Vacuum sawdust off the floor.
Apply a coat of wood conditioner to the full surface of the furniture using a white cotton fabric or foam brush. Allow it to dry for 15 minutes and apply another coat. Allow the second coat to dry for 2 hours.
Stir the gel stain thoroughly using a paint stirrer to mix.
Put on a set of rubber gloves and dip a cotton rag to the gel stain.
Wipe the stain over the surface of the furniture, working in the direction of the grain. If the stain is thicker than you want, wipe off the extra with another white cotton fabric.
Keep changing wiping cloths until all the excess stain has been absorbed, to prevent seeing streaks and darker regions. Use an old dry paintbrush to get excess stain out of crevices.
Allow the stain to dry for eight to ten hours. Apply two layers, letting the second to dry for eight to ten hours and the previous coat to dry overnight.
Sand the furniture quietly using 600-grit sandpaper or 0000 steel wool. Blow Off the sawdust as you did in Step 3.
Employ one more coat of gel stain if you would like the timber to be darker. Allow this coat to dry overnight.
Employ a polyurethane top coat using a sponge brush if desired to give the furniture more protection and shine. Allow the top coat to dry overnight before replacing the drawers and knobs and using the furniture.