I chose Minwax's Jacobean stain for a handrail in my basement I was refinishing. I brushed it on with a natural bristle brush and was pleased with the results after two coats, note: this stain is a rather dark brown, it looks even darker when wet but it lightens up as it dries and soaks in. I allowed for more than the recommended time between coats, I was in no hurry. After staining I finished off the piece with 3 coats of Minwax Polycrilic Semigloss (using of course a synthetic bristle brush for that product). This stain did everything I could reasonably expect of it for the low cost.