Matching new wood to old? (Douglas Fir)

[dwminnich]

I've got some repairs to do to the balusters of a staircase made from Douglas Fir. The original finish on the fir was oil of some sort, but I don't know what formulation/blend it was. Of course, over time (15 years) the fir has darkened and reddened.

As I replace pieces of the old wood I'm faced with a decision about how best to match the color. I know that over the course of several months the new wood will start to darken, but it may take quite a while for the color to get close to a match on its own, if indeed it ever does.

The options I'm considering are:
1) leave the new wood unfinished for a while, possibly putting the milled pieces out in the direct sunlight to speed the aging, then finish in several months.
2) finish the new wood now with a clear oil, making sure to use a finish without UV blockers so that the wood continues to darken.
3) finish the new wood now with an oil tinted to match the color of the old wood. In this case I'm not sure if I'd be better off to use a finish with UV blockers or not, since I'm not sure how much more color shift I should expect from the old wood.

I welcome your feedback about these, or other, options. Anyone done this before with success?




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[Roy G]

Dave, how much darker is the old wood compared to new unfinished stuff? I haven't used Doug fir except when it was going to be painted. I would think the old staircase is about as dark as its going to get from UV. Can you fit everything in place unfinished to see how much contrast there is? Sometimes the wood doesn't stand out so much, maybe shadows or behind other parts make it less noticeable.

Roy G

 

[dwminnich]

Dave, how much darker is the old wood compared to new unfinished stuff? I haven't used Doug fir except when it was going to be painted. I would think the old staircase is about as dark as its going to get from UV. Can you fit everything in place unfinished to see how much contrast there is? Sometimes the wood doesn't stand out so much, maybe shadows or behind other parts make it less noticeable.

Roy G

Roy, here you go. Of course, the piece on the left has no finish yet.

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[Roy G]

Dave, I would try to get a close match with the finish to the old wood. As you show in your picture, there is a large amount of difference and it is very obvious. As the wood ages, the colors will tend to remain similar. You'll always have slight variations in the wood color.

Roy G

 

[Jeff]

The original finish on the fir was oil of some sort, but I don't know what formulation/blend it was. Of course, over time (15 years) the fir has darkened and reddened.

I'd avoid dyes and stains on the new wood for the time being, but use some of scrap DF to start.

1. BORG BLO/MS. Maybe a 1:1 dilution.

2. Pure Tung oil, same dilution. I've had no problem with this product drying in <24 hours. Use MS or their Citrus Solvent which really smells nice in the house (limonene from orange peels).

https://www.realmilkpaint.com/shop/oils/pure-tung-chinawood/

 

[walnutjerry]

lay the new pieces out in direct sunlight before you fasten them in place. You will be surprised at how much the wood will darken.

 

[chris_goris]

The original pieces are only 15 years old? They probably have polyurethane on them, that will darken your pieces alot. Have you tried a sample piece?

 

[dwminnich]

The original pieces are only 15 years old? They probably have polyurethane on them, that will darken your pieces alot. Have you tried a sample piece?

Yep, but if there's any poly on them it was part of an oil blend. We had the house built, but I don't remember the specifics of what was used on the fir.


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[dwminnich]

lay the new pieces out in direct sunlight before you fasten them in place. You will be surprised at how much the wood will darken.

Yeah, I know it will, the question is how quickly? When we built the house, some of the timber frame got mud on it. When the frame was cleaned as construction progressed, the spots that had been protected from the UV by the mud were drastically lighter than the adjacent wood that had been clear. I wasn't sure whether that would always be noticeable or not, but after a year we could no longer tell the difference.


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