Minwax Dark Walnut vs Varathane Black Cherry
Minwax Dark Walnut is a deep cool-neutral brown; Varathane Black Cherry is a near-black with a red-brown cast, so the difference is undertone more than depth.
Pick Dark Walnut when the goal is a dark brown that reads as neutral on cabinets and floors.
Pick Black Cherry when you want a deep, slightly red dark furniture tone rather than a neutral one.
How close are they?
Delta-E (perceptual color distance) between Dark Walnut and Black Cherry is 4.1 (a visible but subtle difference, more apparent side by side than on separate pieces).
Side by side
| Dark Walnut | Black Cherry | |
|---|---|---|
| Brand and line | Minwax Wood Finish | Varathane Premium Fast Dry |
| Color code | 2716 | |
| Stain type | oil | oil |
| Hex (approx.) | #402A20 | #3E2622 |
| Lightness (L*) | 19 | 18 |
| Undertone | deep cool-neutral brown | deep near-black red-brown |
Dark Walnut is the lighter of the two by about 1 points of lightness on a 0 to 100 scale, so Black Cherry will hide more of the wood's own grain and color on the same board. Hex values are on-screen approximations of each published swatch; confirm on a test board of your own wood before committing.
How each behaves on pine, oak, maple and cabinets
Pine
Dark Walnut: Pine's grain runs soft and uneven in density, so Dark Walnut (a thin, deep-penetrating oil stain) is prone to blotching here unless the wood gets a pre-stain conditioner first.
Black Cherry: Pine's grain runs soft and uneven in density, so Black Cherry (a thin, deep-penetrating oil stain) is prone to blotching here unless the wood gets a pre-stain conditioner first.
Oak
Dark Walnut: Oak's large, open pores soak up an oil stain like Dark Walnut unevenly in a good way: it settles into the grain and makes the natural texture pop rather than looking flat.
Black Cherry: Oak's large, open pores soak up an oil stain like Black Cherry unevenly in a good way: it settles into the grain and makes the natural texture pop rather than looking flat.
Maple
Dark Walnut: Maple is dense and tight-grained with almost no texture to hide unevenness, so Dark Walnut blotches badly here without a conditioner or a test board first. This is the wood oil stains struggle with most.
Black Cherry: Maple is dense and tight-grained with almost no texture to hide unevenness, so Black Cherry blotches badly here without a conditioner or a test board first. This is the wood oil stains struggle with most.
Cabinets
Dark Walnut: On cabinet doors, an oil stain like Dark Walnut can lap-mark where one panel overlaps the next during application; wipe fast and work one door at a time to keep the color even.
Black Cherry: On cabinet doors, an oil stain like Black Cherry can lap-mark where one panel overlaps the next during application; wipe fast and work one door at a time to keep the color even.