<p>I printed parts for a Harry Potter wand with HatchBox Wood PLA, now I want to apply stain. I intended to try MinWax PolyShades wood stain, then noticed Varathane water-based wood stain is available at my local Rona hardware store. This seems a "healthier" option, maybe not as fussy to apply as PolyShades, anyone had experience with this product?</p>

Wood stains (as opposed to dyes, paints, etc.) work by having large particles that become lodged in the grain of the wood, yielding a result that varies in intensity with the grain of the wood and thereby brings out its beauty. It's unlikely that they will do what you want, or anything reasonable, on PLA that has wood particles mixed into it. You might be able to find some types of dyes that will work. I've used wood dyes on woods that don't take stain well and have had good results, and if the PLA+wood material consists of a significant amount of wood, it seems plausible that wood dyes might work well on it.