Minwax Weathered Oak vs Varathane Willow Gray
Weathered Oak (Minwax) keeps more brown in its weathered-wood look; Willow Gray (Varathane) is a softer, more neutral gray at a similar light-medium depth.
Pick Weathered Oak if you want the finished piece to still read as "wood" rather than gray.
Pick Willow Gray for a cleaner, more neutral gray with less brown underneath it.
How close are they?
Delta-E (perceptual color distance) between Weathered Oak and Willow Gray is 9.1 (a clearly distinguishable difference once you see them next to each other).
Side by side
| Weathered Oak | Willow Gray | |
|---|---|---|
| Brand and line | Minwax Wood Finish | Varathane Premium Fast Dry |
| Color code | 270 | |
| Stain type | oil | oil |
| Hex (approx.) | #8A7A68 | #8D8A80 |
| Lightness (L*) | 52 | 57 |
| Undertone | light gray-brown, a weathered-wood look | soft neutral gray |
Willow Gray is the lighter of the two by about 5 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.
Willow Gray: Pine's grain runs soft and uneven in density, so Willow Gray (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.
Willow Gray: Oak's large, open pores soak up an oil stain like Willow Gray 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.
Willow Gray: Maple is dense and tight-grained with almost no texture to hide unevenness, so Willow Gray 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.
Willow Gray: On cabinet doors, an oil stain like Willow Gray 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.