Puritan Pine vs Natural
Natural is nearly clear and barely shifts the wood's own color; Puritan Pine is a genuine light warm tan color on top of it.
Pick Natural when you want protection and a slight amber warmth without visibly "staining" the piece.
Pick Puritan Pine when you want a clear, if light, color change rather than just a clear coat with a tint.
How close are they?
Delta-E (perceptual color distance) between Puritan Pine and Natural is 22.3 (a clearly distinguishable difference once you see them next to each other).
Side by side
| Puritan Pine | Natural | |
|---|---|---|
| Brand and line | Minwax Wood Finish | Minwax Wood Finish |
| Color code | 218 | 209 |
| Stain type | oil | oil |
| Hex (approx.) | #C9A06A | #E8D3AE |
| Lightness (L*) | 68 | 85 |
| Undertone | warm tan-gold, light-to-medium depth | near-clear warm amber, barely darkens the wood |
Natural is the lighter of the two by about 17 points of lightness on a 0 to 100 scale, so Puritan Pine 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
Puritan Pine: Pine's grain runs soft and uneven in density, so Puritan Pine (a thin, deep-penetrating oil stain) is prone to blotching here unless the wood gets a pre-stain conditioner first.
Natural: Pine's grain runs soft and uneven in density, so Natural (a thin, deep-penetrating oil stain) is prone to blotching here unless the wood gets a pre-stain conditioner first.
Oak
Puritan Pine: Oak's large, open pores soak up an oil stain like Puritan Pine unevenly in a good way: it settles into the grain and makes the natural texture pop rather than looking flat.
Natural: Oak's large, open pores soak up an oil stain like Natural unevenly in a good way: it settles into the grain and makes the natural texture pop rather than looking flat.
Maple
Puritan Pine: Maple is dense and tight-grained with almost no texture to hide unevenness, so Puritan Pine blotches badly here without a conditioner or a test board first. This is the wood oil stains struggle with most.
Natural: Maple is dense and tight-grained with almost no texture to hide unevenness, so Natural blotches badly here without a conditioner or a test board first. This is the wood oil stains struggle with most.
Cabinets
Puritan Pine: On cabinet doors, an oil stain like Puritan Pine 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.
Natural: On cabinet doors, an oil stain like Natural 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.