There are many different kinds of wood stains. Good quality stain will not only give your stained rocking chairs a hint of color, but will offer them protection from the weather and bugs without covering the wood grain, as paint does. Stained rocking chairs can be made of any kind of wood, from ash and cypress, to affordable pine. Depending on the type and color of the stain, outside wood rocking chairs can look completely different than the original wood they are made of, and even resemble exotic woods such as mahogany. That is important if the chair is made of cheap pine, but in case of more expensive and more attractive wood such as ash, the goal of the stain is to protect the wood and not hide it. While we like the fact that stain protects our stained rocking chair from the humidity and insects, we mostly choose them because they really look great and luxurious and work great in any space.