Need stain recommendation

[kelLOGg]

I am building a bench from a white oak for someone who gave me the tree. I am at the staining process now and need advice on selecting a stain to match that shown in one of the pics. It is really dark nd I hope it doesn't obscure the QS patterns.

 

[KenOfCary]

Stains will obscure the Ray fleck pattern in the wood. A Dye will not. But based on the darkness of that last picture it may not be possible to match that with a dye.

Perhaps a combination of dye and fuming (with ammonia) might produce the desired affect.

Use some test pieces sanded to the same as the main piece to determine what looks best to the client.

I may be prejudiced, but I no longer like to put stain on good wood and prefer dye to enhance the grain and bring out the natural beauty of the wood.

 

[redknife]

Here is an approach that has worked for me: start with a finishers color wheel which gives a directional sense when placed against your target (is it more of a green brown or red brown? etc). Transtint has a color name conversion on their website. I then do very small batches of dye on a piece of same wood, same wood prep. For example “x” drops of dye A and “y” drops of dye B. Line up the ratios and dye choices on the wood and label. Often this is a mix of dyes based on the directional guidance from the color wheel. Compare the dye samples with your other piece. Some will stand out like a sore thumb and others will get close. Refine your mix and when happy make a sample with the full finishing schedule including topcoat on the target wood prepped the same. Scale the dye ratio for larger batch. It’s time consuming but it works for me.
To be sure, there are other ways to go about matching. Also consider how committed you are to a match vs the roughly the same color value.

 

[Mark Johnson]

I actually had good experience with Sherwin Williams doing a color match. They sell a stain (their own brand) that is actually a combination of stain and dye which allows some close matches. It is rubbing stain as well so that you can rub areas to a lighter tone. Like others mentioned though your best friend is make sure to do samples before you color your piece.

 

[LocoWoodWork]

I found this guy on youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ni2Y3vMtUSU

He has a few videos regarding dyeing wood. Not the most exciting video I've ever watched, but I learned more about finishing.

 

[TENdriver]

I found this guy on youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ni2Y3vMtUSU

He has a few videos regarding dyeing wood. Not the most exciting video I've ever watched, but I learned more about finishing.

Charles Neil was affiliated with Woodcraft and used to be up here in VA. I can’t follow him. His voice and demeanor are nails on a chalkboard for me.

He does have a few good ideas for finishing.



When you mention “ray fleck” and oak I think of Stickley. There are tons of recipes out there for darkening oak and not obscuring the QS fleck. For me, I would compare finishing recipes by some of the pro finishers.


BTW, really nice looking bench! Hopefully you’ll post some photos of the piece with your final finish.

 

[zdorsch]

Bob,

This might help or you could contact him for recommendations:

http://homesteadfinishingproducts.com/stickley.pdf

Edit: I think you’ll have to experiment with several options to get it right, hopefully the link will shed some light on how oak takes stain/dye based on various shades/products. I think Dan posted something about Mineax “stains” recently that revealed some were more of a “dye.”