John in NM
They are often the best solution, I've just never found one I liked for maple. This stuff doesn't seem to muddy up the grain the way gel stains do, and it penetrates evenly the way minwax type stuff doesn't Thought of trying some dyes but there's that color fastness problem with some, and uneven penetration (again) with others - the transtint in alcohol that I have on hand.

Results here are quite good enough that I plan to use one of these processes on a maple stock that I'm making.