<p>I ended up using Saman brand water-based wood stain, also from Rona hardware (a brand of Lowe's Canada). The selection of colours for Saman stains was greater than the Varathane stains. </p>

<p>I applied a single coat of colour #117 "Chamois" to the stem portion of the wand, and two coats of colour #120 "Dark Walnut" to the handle. I did not apply a varnish or sealer. The results seem acceptable, given that I Am Not A Carpenter, and this is my first go at printing and finishing wood PLA! Overall, I'm quite happy with the result. I left the PLA mostly unsanded to take advantage of the layers' wood-grain appearance.</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/j8OTj.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/j8OTj.jpg" alt="Close up of wand"></a><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/jSl8B.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/jSl8B.jpg" alt="Another close up, showing the Dark Walnut stained handle at left, the Chamois stained stem at left, with a section of unstained wood PLA at the joint"></a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-16T08:34:07.203Z
Very cool, I didn’t expect it to work that well. Hiding electronics in it is a cool idea too.
T. M.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-16T04:00:21.383Z
2019-05-16T04:00:21.383Z
psteiner
<p>Wood stains (as opposed to dyes, paints, etc.) work by having large particles that become lodged in the grain of the wood, yielding a result that varies in intensity with the grain of the wood and thereby brings out its beauty. It's unlikely that they will do what you want, or anything reasonable, on PLA that has wood particles mixed into it. You might be able to find some types of dyes that will work. I've used wood dyes on woods that don't take stain well and have had good results, and if the PLA+wood material consists of a significant amount of wood, it seems plausible that wood dyes might work well on it.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-10T04:51:53.157Z
From what I've read: "Composition: 60 % PLA and 40 % wood", please add source for 95 %. I also read that it stains pretty well.
0scar
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-10T11:42:15.060Z
@R -- sorry for misleading you on the percent wood filler
Carl Witthoft
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-10T15:40:21.220Z
Sorry. I'll edit that in a bit from a real keyboard.
R.. GitHub STOP HELPING ICE
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-10T19:43:52.880Z
What's with the downvotes? Were they about the mistaken last sentence about composition, based on what Carl wrote? I've edited that out. I feel like the rest of the answer is good/informative - it explains the mechanism of stains and why they're unlikely to work on PLA+wood extrusion the same way they do on actual solid wood.
R.. GitHub STOP HELPING ICE
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-11T03:07:00.000Z
I did some web research and found several examples that show stains do work on wood pla printed objects. I didn’t answer because I have no experience trying it and the op’s question was about a specific brand of stain.
T. M.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-11T04:08:30.120Z
@T.M.: Now you've got me wondering if you could modulate the flow and extrusion pattern to simulate wood grain and get the stain particles to catch in it like they would in real wood...
R.. GitHub STOP HELPING ICE
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-11T05:20:13.627Z
@R.. One of the pages I read said they used a trick of varying the nozzle temperature to burn the wood fill to shade the filament slightly differently to simulate wood grain to a small degree. Your idea sounds interesting too but it doesn’t appear necessary to get wood fill pla to take a stain.
T. M.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-10T03:34:30.213Z
2019-05-10T19:42:28.863Z
2019-05-10T19:42:28.863Z
R.. GitHub STOP HELPING ICE
<p>I printed parts for a Harry Potter wand with HatchBox Wood PLA, now I want to apply stain. I intended to try MinWax PolyShades wood stain, then noticed Varathane water-based wood stain is available at my local Rona hardware store. This seems a "healthier" option, maybe not as fussy to apply as PolyShades, anyone had experience with this product?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-09T17:34:37.130Z
Really -- get those tiny sample-size tins and test on a random chunk of printed material.   But be aware that stains are intended for wood, and your PLA is 95% not-wood
Carl Witthoft
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-10T04:55:21.853Z
@CarlWitthoft According to [this](https://m.all3dp.com/2/wood-filament-for-a-3d-printer-explained-compared/)
0scar
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-10T11:41:37.923Z
@0scar  I stand corrected -- shame on me for not looking at the reel I have at home!
Carl Witthoft
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-12T00:12:52.483Z
Did you get a chance to test it out yet? Please update.
T. M.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-16T04:03:05.317Z
@T.M. added my answer below.
psteiner
<filament><pla><post-processing>
Anyone tried Varathane water-based Wood Stain on Hatchbox Wood PLA?
psteiner
# Anyone tried Varathane water-based Wood Stain on Hatchbox Wood PLA?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-05-08)

I printed parts for a Harry Potter wand with HatchBox Wood PLA, now I want to apply stain. I intended to try MinWax PolyShades wood stain, then noticed Varathane water-based wood stain is available at my local Rona hardware store. This seems a "healthier" option, maybe not as fussy to apply as PolyShades, anyone had experience with this product?

**Tags:** filament, pla, post-processing

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Really -- get those tiny sample-size tins and test on a random chunk of printed material.   But be aware that stains are intended for wood, and your PLA is 95% not-wood  
> **username_2**: @username_1 According to [this](https://m.all3dp.com/2/wood-filament-for-a-3d-printer-explained-compared/)  
> **username_1**: @username_2  I stand corrected -- shame on me for not looking at the reel I have at home!  
> **username_3**: Did you get a chance to test it out yet? Please update.  
> **username_0**: @T.M. added my answer below.  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_0 on 2019-05-16. Score: 2

I ended up using Saman brand water-based wood stain, also from Rona hardware (a brand of Lowe's Canada). The selection of colours for Saman stains was greater than the Varathane stains.

I applied a single coat of colour #117 "Chamois" to the stem portion of the wand, and two coats of colour #120 "Dark Walnut" to the handle. I did not apply a varnish or sealer. The results seem acceptable, given that I Am Not A Carpenter, and this is my first go at printing and finishing wood PLA! Overall, I'm quite happy with the result. I left the PLA mostly unsanded to take advantage of the layers' wood-grain appearance.

[![Close up of wand](https://i.sstatic.net/j8OTj.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/j8OTj.jpg)[![Another close up, showing the Dark Walnut stained handle at left, the Chamois stained stem at left, with a section of unstained wood PLA at the joint](https://i.sstatic.net/jSl8B.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/jSl8B.jpg)

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: Very cool, I didn’t expect it to work that well. Hiding electronics in it is a cool idea too.  

---

### Answer by username_4 on 2019-05-10. Score: -2

Wood stains (as opposed to dyes, paints, etc.) work by having large particles that become lodged in the grain of the wood, yielding a result that varies in intensity with the grain of the wood and thereby brings out its beauty. It's unlikely that they will do what you want, or anything reasonable, on PLA that has wood particles mixed into it. You might be able to find some types of dyes that will work. I've used wood dyes on woods that don't take stain well and have had good results, and if the PLA+wood material consists of a significant amount of wood, it seems plausible that wood dyes might work well on it.

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: From what I've read: "Composition: 60 % PLA and 40 % wood", please add source for 95 %. I also read that it stains pretty well.  
> **username_1**: @R -- sorry for misleading you on the percent wood filler  
> **username_4**: Sorry. I'll edit that in a bit from a real keyboard.  
> **username_4**: What's with the downvotes? Were they about the mistaken last sentence about composition, based on what username_1 wrote? I've edited that out. I feel like the rest of the answer is good/informative - it explains the mechanism of stains and why they're unlikely to work on PLA+wood extrusion the same way they do on actual solid wood.  
> **username_3**: I did some web research and found several examples that show stains do work on wood pla printed objects. I didn’t answer because I have no experience trying it and the op’s question was about a specific brand of stain.  
> **username_4**: @T.M.: Now you've got me wondering if you could modulate the flow and extrusion pattern to simulate wood grain and get the stain particles to catch in it like they would in real wood...  
> **username_3**: @R.. One of the pages I read said they used a trick of varying the nozzle temperature to burn the wood fill to shade the filament slightly differently to simulate wood grain to a small degree. Your idea sounds interesting too but it doesn’t appear necessary to get wood fill pla to take a stain.  

---

