Minwax Gunstock vs Varathane Light Walnut
Minwax Gunstock is a warm medium brown; Varathane Light Walnut is a warm medium tan-brown that reads a little lighter and less deep.
Pick Gunstock for oak furniture that wants a warm, traditional brown with more depth.
Pick Light Walnut for a lighter walnut look on furniture and trim, finished quickly.
How close are they?
Delta-E (perceptual color distance) between Gunstock and Light Walnut is 9.4 (a clearly distinguishable difference once you see them next to each other).
Side by side
| Gunstock | Light Walnut | |
|---|---|---|
| Brand and line | Minwax Wood Finish | Varathane Premium Fast Dry |
| Color code | 231 | |
| Stain type | oil | oil |
| Hex (approx.) | #A06A3A | #9C6F4C |
| Lightness (L*) | 50 | 51 |
| Undertone | warm medium brown, a step darker than Golden Oak | warm medium tan-brown |
Light Walnut is the lighter of the two by about 1 points of lightness on a 0 to 100 scale, so Gunstock 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
Gunstock: Pine's grain runs soft and uneven in density, so Gunstock (a thin, deep-penetrating oil stain) is prone to blotching here unless the wood gets a pre-stain conditioner first.
Light Walnut: Pine's grain runs soft and uneven in density, so Light Walnut (a thin, deep-penetrating oil stain) is prone to blotching here unless the wood gets a pre-stain conditioner first.
Oak
Gunstock: Oak's large, open pores soak up an oil stain like Gunstock unevenly in a good way: it settles into the grain and makes the natural texture pop rather than looking flat.
Light Walnut: Oak's large, open pores soak up an oil stain like Light Walnut unevenly in a good way: it settles into the grain and makes the natural texture pop rather than looking flat.
Maple
Gunstock: Maple is dense and tight-grained with almost no texture to hide unevenness, so Gunstock blotches badly here without a conditioner or a test board first. This is the wood oil stains struggle with most.
Light Walnut: Maple is dense and tight-grained with almost no texture to hide unevenness, so Light Walnut blotches badly here without a conditioner or a test board first. This is the wood oil stains struggle with most.
Cabinets
Gunstock: On cabinet doors, an oil stain like Gunstock 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.
Light Walnut: On cabinet doors, an oil stain like Light 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.