Weathered Oak vs Driftwood
Both chase the popular "weathered wood" look, but Weathered Oak keeps more brown in the mix while Driftwood pushes further toward a pale, bleached gray.
Pick Weathered Oak for a farmhouse look that still reads as wood rather than washed-out gray.
Pick Driftwood for a coastal or Scandinavian-style finish where the goal is closer to sun-bleached beach wood.
How close are they?
Delta-E (perceptual color distance) between Weathered Oak and Driftwood is 15.5 (a clearly distinguishable difference once you see them next to each other).
Side by side
| Weathered Oak | Driftwood | |
|---|---|---|
| Brand and line | Minwax Wood Finish | Minwax Wood Finish |
| Color code | 270 | 2126 |
| Stain type | oil | oil |
| Hex (approx.) | #8A7A68 | #A9A196 |
| Lightness (L*) | 52 | 67 |
| Undertone | light gray-brown, a weathered-wood look | pale warm gray, a bleached-driftwood look |
Driftwood is the lighter of the two by about 14 points of lightness on a 0 to 100 scale, so Weathered Oak 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
Weathered Oak: Pine's grain runs soft and uneven in density, so Weathered Oak (a thin, deep-penetrating oil stain) is prone to blotching here unless the wood gets a pre-stain conditioner first.
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.
Oak
Weathered Oak: Oak's large, open pores soak up an oil stain like Weathered Oak unevenly in a good way: it settles into the grain and makes the natural texture pop rather than looking flat.
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.
Maple
Weathered Oak: Maple is dense and tight-grained with almost no texture to hide unevenness, so Weathered Oak blotches badly here without a conditioner or a test board first. This is the wood oil stains struggle with most.
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.
Cabinets
Weathered Oak: On cabinet doors, an oil stain like Weathered Oak 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.
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.