A Tribute to Minwax Wood Stain

Judy, here again.  Yesterday I wrote about my love of spray paint; and today I'm going to tell you about the best thing for wood I've found. 

As a realtor and a remodeler, I hate to list a house that isn't in good shape.  If the house sells for less because of something I could change, then I postpone the listing if the seller allows and I do the work myself.  The other realtors in my office in Amarillo always said I did too much, but again if doing a weekend of staining for 7.77 (which Minwax costs) will bring $5000 more for my seller and make me $150 more, then it is worth my time and energy to do that. 

Some of the times I've done this have blown up into big jobs, like the time I told my ac man Larry that if he'd give me $5,000 for supplies, I'd get him a lot more money.  He did, I did, but me and my now business partner spent several months doing it.  Maybe I didn't make enough off that job to spend that much time and energy, but hopefully if he ever buys a house, he will remember me.  Another time I renovated an elderly couples rent house for them, and all I made for 3 months of work was my commission of about $2,000.  But I figure it helped someone else, and it is not always about the money. 

Today I'll talk about how great Minwax is and give you some pictures and examples.

Minwax is a stain and sealer all in one, so you don't have a lot of steps.  Actually when I'm fixing cabinets that already been varnished and I want to keep them the same, I use Minwax.  I get the same color, and I think when I'm finished they look new==and that's without sanding.  I just dip a Bounty towel in the minwax and wipe it on.  I wear gloves as it's messy, but one coat and I'm through.  With Bounties there are no brush strokes and you can quickly wipe off drips. 

Story 1:  A lady had her townhouse on the market for sale by owner and her dad asked me to look at it as she wasn't having any luck.  (80% of sellers who start by themselves end up getting a realtor).  I went and looked at her townhouse which was a two story 2 bedroom with huge living room, gorgeous fireplace, 1980's picture frame paneling that looked rich, and matching kitchen cabinets that went all the way to the ceiling witih doors on one wall.  It was a great townhome but I knew upon walking in the door why it wasn't selling.  The entry wainscoting looked as if someone had poured bleach on it and stripped it of all its finish.  The picture framing paneling and kitchen looked fine except some scratches due to the age.  However, when I got upstairs the cabinets looked just like the wainscoting. 

Bathroom cabinets before

Entry hall wainscoting.

I asked the seller if I could have the weekend to redo the woodwork, and she allowed it.  I bought some Minwax at Lowes, but when I got to her house it was the wrong color.  Luckily she worked at Michaels and was able to buy it with her employee discount and she got the right color.  I took mine back and all this ended up costing me was my time and the Bounty paper towels.  I not only did the cabinets in the bathroom and the wainscoting,  I went ahead and put a coat on all the picture framed paneling, all the cabinets in the kitchen, including that wall from floor to ceiling, all the woodwork on the staircase, the laundry cabinets, and all window frames that were stained wood.  So easy.  Just dip towel into stain and wipe on.  That townhome looked new once the woodwork was revarnished and stained in one fell swoop; and I also had a carpet man stretch her carpet and put a threshold between the dining room carpet and the entry tile. 

First coat - it took 2 coats on these  they were so damaged.

Final coat

My partner putting up backsplash before cabinets redone.

Story 2.  The house sold quickly and we became friends.  A few months later when I was working on the ac man's father's home, the seller wanted to help me.  We spent a month or so remodeling this 3 bedroom home.  After she put up a really cool metal backsplash I spent a day redoing the cabinets.  The owner's wife who had known those cabinets since she started dating him and being married to him for 30 years, said that she'd never seen them look so good.  That house too sold quickly.  My friend and I saw how much the seller made and decided to join forces and buy homes to remodel and flip.  However, her father is a landlord and her heart is in rentals, so all the houses we bought are now rentals; we have a partnership and share the responsibilities, and I went out on my own to flip houses.  



After new floor laid and wood freshened up with Minwax.

Story 3.  I sold a house to the sweetest Chinese doctor who was retired and working at a lab.  After we closed her house, she and I decided to refinish her kitchen cabinets, as the seller had added new granite counters, but done nothing to the cabinets.  We each put on gloves and she took the upper cabinets and I took the lowers and in one evening we made her cabinets match the granite.  I didn't take any pictures though. 



Story 4.  Personal.  I use Minwax on my staircase and sometimes my furniture to bring back the shine and give them a newer, shinier look. 

My shiny staircase due to Minwa.  The sidewall has since been another project that I will write about soon, with tons of in progress pictures.  Also yellow and mauve walls are GONE,and are now a trendy two toned gray.  Another project, no less.  I stay busy.

Minwax is really a very cost effective way and an easy way to make old wood look new again.  You don't have to sand before, just make sure all grease and grime are washed off.  It dries very, very fast, but has a strong odor; so open those doors!!