Minwax Driftwood vs Varathane Fogstone
Both are pale grays, but Minwax Driftwood keeps a warm bleached-wood undertone while Varathane Fogstone reads as a cooler stone gray.
Pick Driftwood for coastal or farmhouse pieces that sit next to warm wood tones.
Pick Fogstone for shiplap and paneling where a cooler, more neutral gray-wash suits the room.
How close are they?
Delta-E (perceptual color distance) between Driftwood and Fogstone is 3.4 (a visible but subtle difference, more apparent side by side than on separate pieces).
Side by side
| Driftwood | Fogstone | |
|---|---|---|
| Brand and line | Minwax Wood Finish | Varathane Premium Fast Dry |
| Color code | 2126 | |
| Stain type | oil | oil |
| Hex (approx.) | #A9A196 | #A6A69C |
| Lightness (L*) | 67 | 68 |
| Undertone | pale warm gray, a bleached-driftwood look | pale cool stone-gray |
Fogstone is the lighter of the two by about 1 points of lightness on a 0 to 100 scale, so Driftwood 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
Driftwood: Pine's grain runs soft and uneven in density, so Driftwood (a thin, deep-penetrating oil stain) is prone to blotching here unless the wood gets a pre-stain conditioner first.
Fogstone: Pine's grain runs soft and uneven in density, so Fogstone (a thin, deep-penetrating oil stain) is prone to blotching here unless the wood gets a pre-stain conditioner first.
Oak
Driftwood: Oak's large, open pores soak up an oil stain like Driftwood unevenly in a good way: it settles into the grain and makes the natural texture pop rather than looking flat.
Fogstone: Oak's large, open pores soak up an oil stain like Fogstone unevenly in a good way: it settles into the grain and makes the natural texture pop rather than looking flat.
Maple
Driftwood: Maple is dense and tight-grained with almost no texture to hide unevenness, so Driftwood blotches badly here without a conditioner or a test board first. This is the wood oil stains struggle with most.
Fogstone: Maple is dense and tight-grained with almost no texture to hide unevenness, so Fogstone blotches badly here without a conditioner or a test board first. This is the wood oil stains struggle with most.
Cabinets
Driftwood: On cabinet doors, an oil stain like Driftwood 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.
Fogstone: On cabinet doors, an oil stain like Fogstone 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.