Let me just say, I love General Finishes Oil based stain. But the water based stain is crap. I have been doing wood working for 35 years. 17 of the those were spent a s finish/licensed carpenter. I have stained more doors, trim work and custom installs than I can count. Recently I began a buffet for our dining room. The colors my wife picked out ( I only showed her General Finishes color chart) came only in water based. Now I have to admit, I have very little experience with water based stain. But I thought if I am going to do it General Finishes is the way to go. So far I have applied and sanded off the water based stain three times. This stuff dries so quick,you can barely get it wiped off in time before it dries. I live in Michigan so dry climate is not a a factor. I ended up with rag marks, overlap marks , you name it it showed up. This if after I watched the General Finishes “7 common problems with water based stains.” I know you buy purchase a drying retarder from General Finishes, but honestly this should have been added to the mix to begin with. It’s not like there stuff is inexpensive. Also I find that the water based stain really muddies the wood grain, which is my favorite thing about General Finishes Oil based stain is how clear it looks. To some it up, I will never use the stuff again. Save yourself some heart ache and use there oil based stain you will save time and money.