I’m using a water based stain (Behr’s), tinted with Trans Tint dye (less than1 ounce /quart) to finish a new set of  raised panel  kitchen cabinet doors and the existing stripped face frames to which they will be mounted.  I’ve opted for a water based product, which I haven’t used before, only because the face frames will have to be stained in place in a kitchen with no windows – i.e. no good ventilation.

The problem I’ve encountered is that the stain wants to tack up almost immediately.  Before I can evenly distribute the stain on the raised panel (I’m finishing the panels prior to gluing up the doors to avoid having an unstained edge appear when the panel later shrinks), it gets tacky and I’ve had to rewet the whole panel with more stain and rub vigorously to dissolve the streaks.  I’ve had to add some water as well on some trials in order to eliminate the streaks.  This procedure results in a much lighter color than is acceptable.  I hate to think of trying to finish the frames (with a very busy profile cut) once the doors are assembled while dealing with this problem. And I’m concerned about using this kind of stain for the face frames, since I’ve seen how difficult it’s going to be to wipe both the horizontal and vertical members before this stain starts to set up.

Is there anything that can be added to the water based stain in order to slow the drying time?  I’m wondering whether this is a problem with all water based stains, or just with the Behr’s product. It hasn’t escaped my notice that Home Depot has stopped carrrying Behr’s water based stain, and I’m beginning to wonder whether this problem may be the reason for that.