Let me first say, I'm not against oil based finishes. There are some great ones that provide beautiful results, but as a general rule of thumb, I lean towards using all water based finishes in my shop as often as possible. Heres why: • Versatility. I can thin any of my water based products with water! Although water isn't necessarily free, I do have access to it any time that I need it so in the long run it saves drastically. Added too much water? No problem, add more product. I can also mix any of my products together if needed. • Toners. Building onto the last bulletin, I can easily make a toner of any shade with my water based stain by adding about 5% color to my water based topcoat. • Overlay. If you have areas accepting stain differently, you can use water based stain as an overlay to blend. For example, the last buffet I refinished had different types of wood on the trimwork. After I applied my stain and first layer of topcoat, I brushed on a small amount of stain on the lighter wood. This blended everything together so it was seamless after my final application of topcoat. • Low VOCs, no harmful odors or fumes, environmentally friendly and not flammable. This means overall it's a much safer product to have in our workshops • Water and soap cleanup. We only use water based finishes in our sprayers because it results in a much easier cleanup process. When we use oil, we opt for hand application. • Faster dry times. I can easily stain and topcoat a piece in one day or even apply multiple coats of stain to build coverage as needed. On the flip side, I can also dilute the stain drastically for a stainwash for a slight tint of color opposed to the full concentrate. . . . #savedbydesign #furniture #furnituredesign #paintedfurniture #woodworking #homeinspo #renovation