Wood Stain Mix and Staining Tips: Guide for Perfect Wood Finishes

We’re at the point in our fireplace build where I’m staining the mantel, and – after choosing a too-dark, too-red color initially – I had to come back to my go-to wood stain mix.

Should I have tested stain colors on a scrap piece of wood before diving in and doing the whole thing? Yes, so learn from my mistakes because I spent close to an hour sanding the mantel down back to the pine and going back over it with the second color I chose.

But that’s okay, sometimes you don’t get it right the first time.

My go-to wood stain mix

It’s a color I like to call Weathered American: a mix of Weathered Oak and Early American. I found this stain color combination back in 2020 and I can’t even remember which project I first used the stain on, but it was a fitting name given all the stuff we were all dealing with that year, so it stuck.

Since then I’ve used it a ton and I still get messages on Instagram every now and then from people asking about it and how to achieve it.

Here it is in our last house:

How to achieve Weathered American

As someone who has done this probably close to eight times now, I’ve found the execution of mixing stain is pretty important. I’ve tried straight up mixing the two stains together first then applying, and each order of applying them one after the other, but for the best result (in my opinion anyway, since it really comes down to preference), you’ve got to start with the Weathered Oak.

That color is subtle on lighter-toned wood (like pine which is what our mantel is made of), and kind of greys the wood a little which I find neutralizes any yellow tones in it. I apply the Weathered Oak and let it sit only a minute or so before wiping off the excess.

Next, I add the Early American and let that one sit for about three minutes on the surface before wiping the excess. I add the Early American directly after the Weathered Oak (as in I don’t wait for it to set in before drying) and I have no idea if it’s “right” but it works.

Wood staining tips

It might seem like you just slap it on and go, but there are a few tips to keep in mind to get the best result with your wood stain mix.

• Sand the wood before starting, it’ll make a difference!
• Use a pre-stain conditioner. You can get the little tins of these for about $10 at the hardware store and it’s a solution you apply to the wood about 30 minutes before staining. It helps to prime the wood and even out splotchiness that sometimes happens when you’re staining wood.
• Go with the grain. When applying, rub or brush in the direction of the wood grain for best results.
• Application is also kind of a personal preference: I’ve seen people use brushes, rollers and cloths. For me, I prefer to use a clean cloth (like these ones) to rub on the mix and then I can just use a clean side of the towel to wipe off the excess at the end. I also like to use a dense foam brush sometimes, too.
• Lightly sand between adding stain and sealing. I find this easiest to do with a sanding block, but you want to just lightly go over the surface to smooth it all out once the stain has settled in. Wood stain (or anything wet) will raise the grain in wood so the goal in sanding is to knock that down flat again.
• Seal with a couple of coats of polycrylic. My preference is a satin sheen, but a few coats of sealer like this will help the stain keep its finish and resist scratches. I generally do three coats, with a light sanding in between each for a really smooth finish.
• Oh, and in a perfect world you’d wear gloves while staining because it can sometimes get messy. But if you get wood stain on your hands and need to wash it off, you’ll quickly find that the water kind of beads up and won’t wash off. The solution I’ve found for this is to put a little oil on your hands (like honestly, regular olive oil is fine), and then scrub with soap. Weird but it works.

Anyway, this Weathered American wood stain mix is the perfect mid-tone and is pretty neutral (i.e. not too yellow, grey, or brown). I feel like it can skew farmhouse or traditional or modern or boho or coastal depending on where it’s applied, and it’s yet to fail me.

Now, maybe next time I could just remember that it’s my go-to wood stain mix ahead of time before I need to spend an hour sanding down the one I don’t like.

We’d love to see where you’ve used Weathered American in your projects, and if these wood stain mix tips were helpful, sign up to our newsletter and follow along on Instagram!