General FinishesOil Based Pre-Stain Wood Conditioner, 1 Quart

This is great if you are patient enough to apply many coats, and you should. Better than varnish for a satin finish

Love, love, love this stuff!! It truly made a world of difference on my project. I installed a coffee/dry bar in my dining area with an unfinished Birch butcher block countertop from Home Depot. I used this conditioner prior to using the General Finishes Gel Stain in Java and sealed with a wipe on polyurethane coat. I'm in love with the results and have received tons of compliments on the finish. I was originally worried about the wood absorbing too much of the stain and being too dark but two coats of this conditioner and one of stain were perfect to showcase the grain of the countertop. I also used it on the floating shelves made from cheap 12x12x2 framing lumber from HD. Used the same technique as the countertop and love the final look of the shelves. I saw some minimal blotchiness in the shelves (probably due to the wood itself but hardly noticeable) and none on the countertop.I used a little over half the can putting on two coats on all sides of the 9.5 ft. countertop and four 34" shelves. It's very watery and applied easily with a thin cotton rag. If anything it's highly absorbent and most likely I was heavy handed with it's use. But now I know.... I'll never stain without this again!

General Finishes Oil Based Products are AWESOME!!

This stuff works really well. The stain took very well and the grain did not raise a lot.

I am a novice when it comes to dealing with woodworking/staining/painting etc. I had a old, beat up aquarium stand that I was looking to revive. It was soft pine and I was concerned about getting it to stain evenly. This really helped! It was easy to apply and the General Finishes Gel Stain went on great over it. I only had a few small spots that didn't stain evenly, but they are so minor that only I really notice them. It's worth the money to buy this product to insure a easy, finished product.

I used this in combination with their mahogany stain in my front door. Incredible color.

Best product for wood prior to staining! Highly recommend!

Like another reviewer, I found this increased blotching on hard white maple. The first photo is without pre-stain conditioner, with a single application of oil-based General Finishes Candlelight stain. The second photo is a similar cut of the same species, with this pre-conditioner applied per the instructions before the stain. The conditioned wood has many large very noticeable blotches.I gave three stars because I believe this may still be a good pre-conditioner for softwoods.