Did I make a mistake in staining my picnic table? Can you remove stain?

[barrysumpter]

Sanded, Cleaned, washed off and still wet
432061

Sanded, Cleaned, washed off and dried
432062

Sanded, Cleaned, washed off and tinted with two coats
432063


I think that wet look is so much better.
Really feeling I should have just oiled it.

Is there a way to move the stain or should I just leave it?
And just water proof it like the bench?

[Bob38S]

Would depend what stain was used and what effect you were trying to achieve.

Was the stain an all in one, eg matt varnish and stain or just a stain which still requires a finish over the top?

[barrysumpter]

cabot-s-4l-jarrah-water-based-deck-exterior-timber-stain
https://www.bunnings.com.au/cabot-s-4l-jarrah-water-based-deck-exterior-timber-stain_p1520175





cabots-exterior-project-guide
http://cabots.com.au/media/1210/cabots-exterior-project-guide.pdf

[Bob38S]

This is a “problem” with the so called semitransparent stains, too much and you may as well have painted it with ordinary paint.

I’m presuming you want to remove it or thin it out to show some grain. As it is very fresh, some of the paint removers which will also remove water based could be a start. Probably the best bet would be to ring their customer help line, explain your issues, tell them what you want and use their suggestions as to how to achieve that. Failing that, you are probably looking at a large sanding job which will work on the surface but there will still be issues between the boards.