Staining a custom pine cabinet...

Radron73 · 2026-07-23T10:26:35-0400

I good friend is a woodworker and is making me a nice pine custom cabinet for an IM AIO 25g Lagoon tank.

I was thinking about staining it with an all in one sealer/stain made for outdoor decks. I was going to use the Behr brand. This will give it a measure of water resistance. Thoughts?

Dom · 2026-07-23T10:31:06-0400

Radron73 said:
I good friend is a woodworker and is making me a nice pine custom cabinet for an IM AIO 25g Lagoon tank.

I was thinking about staining it with an all in one sealer/stain made for outdoor decks. I was going to use the Behr brand. This will give it a measure of water resistance. Thoughts?

Wet humid environment, so a deck finish product might be a good idea.

I would check to be sure it was safe to use indoors.

FrugalReeferJon · 2026-07-23T10:32:32-0400

I would think that the stain would have to be able to withstand a saltwater environment and non-toxic.

commod0re · 2026-07-23T10:38:31-0400

deck stain is not a great option for indoor furniture, it doesn’t penetrate the wood very well (so it will look like you reused deck parts for it, not a nice custom piece of furniture), it has stuff in it that you don’t need indoors like pesticides, fungicides, and anti-mildew agents that you don’t want offgassing inside your house

use furniture stain, and after you’re happy with the color, varnish it with 2-3 coats of spar urethane. It’ll look better, be a lot more water resistant, and durable

Radron73 · 2026-07-23T10:42:54-0400

commod0re said:
use furniture stain, and after you’re happy with the color, varnish it with 2-3 coats of spar urethane. It’ll look better, be a lot more water resistant, and durable

Ohhhh that's sounds better. Thank you!

BryanM · 2026-07-23T11:37:30-0400

I like the idea of urethane as well, it will go a long way in protecting the wood from the water.

Freenow54 · 2026-07-23T15:08:36-0400

Radron73 said:
I good friend is a woodworker and is making me a nice pine custom cabinet for an IM AIO 25g Lagoon tank.

I was thinking about staining it with an all in one sealer/stain made for outdoor decks. I was going to use the Behr brand. This will give it a measure of water resistance. Thoughts?

Behr Crap