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I am re-doing the kitchens in an apartment building that was build in the early 60’s. The cabinets are constructed of oak veneer plywood, with solid oak face frames- i.e they are very well built. However, they were stained/refinished with a solid colorant type of stain i’m guessing, as some of the grain is obscured. The color is a light yellowish hue. I have looked around, but can’t find any stain that even approaches this finish. I’m guessing this finish was popular back then, as the trim and doors in the apartment were finished in the same color. I have sanded an extra piece to see if the color was due to aging, but it is very clear that it is due to the stain, as you can see the solid colorant in the grain.
Does anyone know where or how I can buy/make this sort of finish? I realize its hard to figure out without a picture- I’ll try to get one posted.
thanks,
Chris
Replies
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Chris, I had the exact problem when trying to match some "limed" oak at our church, where I built a sound booth. The liming was from the '50s, and I thought I would never be able to match it. Then I walked into a Hardware Store and idly looked at the Minwax section. They had the exact wiping finish, and the match was astounding, right out of the can.
It is a pigmented stain and you apply it generously and wipe it off. Wipe too much? Add some more stain and let it sit a while and wipe again. It really worked well.
*I agree...and one more thing about Minwax is that you can mix them to get a custom color. Always let your test pieces dry overnight because the color usually changes slightly as it dries.
*Find the paint store where the local refinishing guys do business. Take a door with you and some test scraps. This stuff takes a lot of fooling around. My supplier lets me mess with it until I get what I want, but I buy a lot of product. Maybe offer to pay them for a stain match. They are not going to make any money if they spend two hours to match the color and you buy 1 qt. of stain. You won't get a true color match until you top coat it. Amber shellac often helps match old surfaces. Look at you match in daylight because the color temperature of the light affect how it looks. I generally figgure wasting half minimum on a color match, but my stuff has to be really, really close. Good luck. Matt
*Thanks for the tips guys. Taking a door in to a paint store sounds like a good idea.Chris
*Chris, i had to match some old cabinet doors and I did just what the others suggested, took a sample to a paint store and had them custom match the stain, they would mix it, Id take it try a sample of it on a piece of scrap if it didnt match then I d take it back and have them tweak it a little and try it again, once it took about 4 trips but I got dead on. Good luck
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I am re-doing the kitchens in an apartment building that was build in the early 60's. The cabinets are constructed of oak veneer plywood, with solid oak face frames- i.e they are very well built. However, they were stained/refinished with a solid colorant type of stain i'm guessing, as some of the grain is obscured. The color is a light yellowish hue. I have looked around, but can't find any stain that even approaches this finish. I'm guessing this finish was popular back then, as the trim and doors in the apartment were finished in the same color. I have sanded an extra piece to see if the color was due to aging, but it is very clear that it is due to the stain, as you can see the solid colorant in the grain.
Does anyone know where or how I can buy/make this sort of finish? I realize its hard to figure out without a picture- I'll try to get one posted.
thanks,
Chris