Lacquer stains use very fast drying binders and solvents. Professional finishers love these stains because the finish can be applied within 15 minutes or so, and the stain can be added to lacquer to make a “toner” for adjusting color between coats of finish. It’s probably this use that has given these stains their name because they don’t use lacquer as the binder. They use a very fast drying varnish—a short-oil varnish.

You can identify lacquer stains by their strong, pungent odor caused by the solvents, which usually include xylene and various ketones. These should be listed on the cans.

Lacquer stains are difficult to use because of their very fast drying. Professionals usually work in pairs, with one person spraying the stain and the other following right behind wiping off the excess.

Choose a lacquer stain if you want to reduce the time between staining and finishing and are working together with someone else or are staining small surfaces. Also choose a lacquer stain if you want to add a colorant to lacquer.

This is more a professional use stain as it requires much skill to properly coat the wood and gain the proper results. Also this stain is not as easily found in local hardware stores.