Patio Updo: Painting the Wooden Swing

I rain out of my Minwax Polyshades "American Chestnut Gloss 475" before I could even get 50% of the swing done; however wanted to post what the difference in shades look like. The swing came with the house and seems firmly planted into the ground. I sanded the cajolla's out of the "legs" of the swing. This is what the swing looked like yesterday... and all the times it's been around not being used....

Yeah, dull, boring, looks about as ugly as the rocks below it. Arizonians love rocks. Ugh! Why?! Oh yea, NO maintenance. But they tend to look kinda ugly and boring. Anyhow, this is what I'm doing today and probably tomorrow if I can get more stain.

The color is much richer and more appealing to the eye. Once the whole bench is done, I think this will look very nice and finally be used! Let's cross our fingers and hope that somebody besides me will sit in it! Now I know to mix the minwax paint too. Ha, oops.