This is for all of you finish guys. I recently purchased a unfinished mantle with the intent of placing it im my great room. I was able to take it to work and finish it at my firehouse. Of course my wife gave me the blessing on what stain color to use. So… I stained and clear coated it, 5 coats of clear coat to be exact. I brought it home and took it out of the box and wow it is way TOO ORANGE looking. It does not match and it is not the finish she was looking for. Now what?? Do I have to scrap it and start over? Can I strip it? I need it to be more brown than orange. any suggestions?
Andy
Replies
Was it the same species of wood and was the stain the same. If so, do the following. On the reverse or back of the mantle, stain and poly with the same method as the front. Then, get some Polyshades by Minwax, as close to the color you want and experiment from there. You will probably need multiple coats, but striping it would be a PITA. Good Luck, Jim Z
I've seen flooring guys mix stain with polyurethane....
You can glaze it with some greenish hues... that will brown the oranges. Use varnish tinted with artist's oils or universal tinters from paint suppliers. Scuff sand with 150 grit sanding sponge before recoating. Work out your fix on test pieces as close as possible before tackling the whole piece. Pthalo green is very powerful and will easily counter the orangeness... but just the right balance requires a careful approach. Sometimes it requires two coats to get the color corrections adjusted accurately. It's kind of like putting in golf... better to putt softly in case you miss... otherwise you may have a longer putt back from the other side instead of a tapin. Raw umber has just a hint of greenness if you are very close and can stand a little darker brown too.
Edited 7/16/2006 1:36 pm ET by bigfootnampa
I agree with what Bigfootnampa said about artist's colors in varnish, except I would go with blues or bluish shades of green (blue, being the complimentary color of orange will subdue the orange and make it brown). Pthalo green, having blue in it, would probably work. Start with very little and work your way up. Pthalo colors are transparent and are known for their staining power, so be careful not to get it on other things!
Edited 7/16/2006 3:18 pm ET by Danno
What Danno said. But scuff with 220.Never said what the finish coats are, so go with Seal-cote shellac and then glaze or varnish with oil tints.
Polyshades by minwax is the worst option.
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