Help with woodcare Wood by wood

Finishing pine and softwoods: even it up first

Pine drinks unevenly, blotches under a spirit stain and turns orange with the years: even it up first, finish it second. A water stain — Water Stain Antique Pine No. 3, the classic — equalises the wood before Mylac on a floor or a wax on furniture. Wax Stripped Pine is the standard on a stripped dresser; Hard Wax Oil Castanea warms pine boards, Crushed Marble or Pale Slate calm the orange; Danish Oil protects a bench outdoors. Knotting is only for use under paint.

Page updated September 2026 · by the Mylands France woodcare specialists

What to know

A soft, resinous wood that drinks unevenly

Pine, fir and spruce share four traits that decide their finish. They are soft: heavy sanding hollows the summer wood, a scratch shows at once. They drink unevenly: the spongy spring wood absorbs a spirit stain far more than the dense veins, hence the blotches of a floor stained without precaution. They have live knots and resin; under a clear finish they are left as they are — knotting, White Knotting or Patent Knotting, is only for use under paint. And they yellow: new pine, yellow-white, turns orange within a few years.

The answer is nearly always the same: even it up first, with a water stain that goes on evenly on softwoods, then finish. Sanding 80-120-150-180 before a stain, stopped at 120 to 150 on a floor and 180 on furniture under an oil; dampen, dry, de-nib before the water stain, which raises the grain. The rest: Preparing woodwork.

Six cases

Six ways to finish pine

1. The stripped pine dresser, waxed

An old pine kitchen dresser, taken back to bare wood, on a terracotta floor. Wax Stripped Pine — the Stripped Pine M7, the standard on pine — applied sparingly with 0000 wire wool, left to haze, buffed along the grain; a second coat after 10 minutes. Once or twice a year after that.

Dresser · Wax Stripped Pine Cleaning first · Wax and Polish Remover

2. The pine floor, stained then varnished

Old pine floorboards re-sanded in a bedroom. Water Stain Antique Pine No. 3 with a sponge, along the grain, evens up the boards; then Shellac Barrier Seal for Floors against the remains of wax, and 2 to 3 coats of Mylac Matt 3 to 4 hours apart, de-nibbed with 220. Light use after 24 hours, hard in 7 days.

Stain · Water Stain Antique Pine No. 3 Barrier · Shellac Barrier Seal for Floors Varnish · Mylac Matt

3. Pine boards, oiled warm

A floor in wide new pine boards, in a chalet. Hard Wax Oil Castanea, a warm chestnut, tints and protects in two thin coats 24 hours apart, over sanding to 120 to 150; the tint evens up better than a clear oil, the added colour hiding the difference in thirst between the veins. Walkable after 24 hours.

Floor · Hard Wax Oil Castanea

4. Pale pine, against the orange

A pine staircase you want to keep light, Scandinavian, without it turning. Hard Wax Oil Crushed Marble lays in the wood a pale veil that counters the yellowing; two thin coats, the excess wiped off at once. Pale Slate, greyer, gives a silvered pine.

Stairs · Hard Wax Oil Crushed Marble Grey version · Hard Wax Oil Pale Slate

5. Pine panelling, whitened and waxed

Tongue-and-groove panelling in new pine in a bedroom. Water Stain White with a cloth lightens the wood without covering it, the knots show through; then Wax Clear, in a thin coat, buffed along the boards. In a bathroom, Quick Dry Varnish Kitchen and Bathroom Matt rather than the wax.

Lighten · Water Stain White Protection · Wax Clear

6. The pine bench, outdoors

A pine garden bench under an apple tree. Danish Oil, made for interior and exterior use alike, penetrates and protects from liquids while keeping an open-grain look: three coats 12 to 18 hours apart, the excess wiped off after 20 minutes. A maintenance coat as soon as water stops beading.

Bench · Danish Oil

The choice

Which product for which pine

On pine the question is not only the look: it is also what has to be done beforehand for an even colour.

The piece	The product	Before	To watch
Old stripped furniture	Wax Stripped Pine	Wax and Polish Remover on old waxes, sanding to 180	Thin coats; no wet cloth
New furniture, aged colour	Water Stain Antique Pine No. 3 then wax or shellac	Sanding 80-120-150-180, wood dampened then de-nibbed	A stain does not protect; finish over it
Old floor	Water Stain then Mylac Matt or Satin	Shellac Barrier Seal for Floors on re-sanded boards	2 to 3 coats 3 to 4 hours apart; a cool dry room
New floor	Hard Wax Oil Castanea, Natural, Crushed Marble	Sanding to 120 to 150, vacuum, tack cloth	Two thin coats 24 hours apart; never wax
Panelling, ceiling	Water Stain White then Wax Clear, or Hard Wax Oil	Sanding to 180	Bathroom: Quick Dry Varnish rather than a wax
Bench, garden table	Danish Oil	Dry wood, below 18% moisture, sanding to 180	Wipe everything off after 20 minutes; cloths into water

Every stain for pine: Pine stains. To paint pine rather than finish it — that is when knotting is used — see Refreshing wooden furniture and Refreshing interior woodwork.

The orange pine problem

Calming the colour without covering it

Pine finished clear ten years ago is orange today: light turns the resin, and an oil or a traditional varnish adds its warmth. There is no going back without re-sanding, but on the bare wood you can lay a touch of pale or grey that counters the orange.

Three routes. Hard Wax Oil Crushed Marble, on a floor or a staircase: the white stays in the fibres, the wood looks whitened, the protection is that of a hard wax oil. Hard Wax Oil Pale Slate: the same thing in grey. Water Stain White on furniture or panelling, in a light coat with a cloth, then a clear wax or 2 to 5 brushed coats of 2000 Pale Shellac Sealer Basecoat: softer, controlled by dilution. Always a test on an offcut. Under a clear varnish, Mylac, which does not yellow.

Floor · Hard Wax Oil Crushed Marble Grey · Hard Wax Oil Pale Slate Furniture · Water Stain White Clear finish · 2000 Pale Shellac Sealer Basecoat

To avoid

What goes wrong on pine

A spirit stain applied directly. Light Fast Stain and Nitrostain are excellent, but on bare pine they blotch. Water Stain first, always, on a floor.
Sanding too much, or too fine. Pine hollows under an insistent sander and burnishes beyond 180: the oil no longer penetrates.
Knotting under a clear finish. It is made for paint; under an oil or a wax it leaves a shiny patch on every knot.
Waxing a pine floor. Wax is not made for floors: Mylac or Hard Wax Oil.
Forgetting to de-nib after a water stain. It raises the grain; dampen, let dry and de-nib beforehand, or the surface stays rough.
Wax over old layers. Wax Stripped Pine on a grimy dresser gives a dull haze: Wax and Polish Remover first.

Frequently asked

Your questions, our answers

Why is my stained pine blotchy?

Because a spirit or solvent stain was applied directly: the spring wood drank more of it than the dense veins. The answer is a water stain — Water Stain Antique Pine No. 3, Light Oak, White — even on softwoods. Once blotched, pine has to be re-sanded back to clean wood.

Should the knots be treated before oiling or waxing pine?

No. White Knotting and Patent Knotting seal live knots before paint, so that the resin does not yellow and crack it. Under a clear finish, they are left as they are; if they bleed, wipe the resin off with Cellulose Thinners.

Which wax on a pine piece?

Wax Stripped Pine, the Stripped Pine M7: the original colour and the standard on pine. Rustic Brown is its darker version; Antique Brown, more orange, on pine you want warmer. The method: How to wax wooden furniture.

How do I keep new pine pale?

Hard Wax Oil Crushed Marble on a floor, Water Stain White then a clear wax on furniture, Mylac — which does not yellow — for a clear film. No finish stops the wood from darkening in the light, but those three hold off the orange considerably.

Hard Wax Oil or Mylac on a pine floor?

Hard Wax Oil, preferably tinted, for a matt look and local repairs; Mylac for a more washable film in a corridor or a kitchen, with Shellac Barrier Seal for Floors on old boards. A water stain before either evens up. The methods: How to oil a wooden floor, How to varnish a wooden floor.