Matching stain on pre-finished furniture

[cajungal]

We have a big entertainment center that has cabinets and drawers on the sides, and a section that goes across the top.  The center doesn't fit in our new living room, so we're just using the tv stand in that area and put the rest of it in our study.  My step-father in law built a bookshelf to match it to go in the center so it will look like a set of built in shelves/cabinets in the study.  The problem is that the existing center has an espresso type finish on it.  I can see the wood grain, but it is muted.  When I stain the sample pieces of wood he gave me, the wood grain is very defined.  Has anyone dealt with matching a factory finish?  Should I try a gel type stain?  Any other suggestions?  We didn't know what type of wood the entertainment center is, so he picked a wood that matched the grain (birch).  Thanks for any help!

[pitterwoo]

that's tough to do. I would try 1-step stain, the kind that is stain and poly in one. It sits on top of the wood a little more than doing the regular penetrating stain. The gel stain sits on top even more so you could try that next.

[TBM]

Feb 3, 2013 18:00:19 GMT -5 pitterwoo said:

that's tough to do. I would try 1-step stain, the kind that is stain and poly in one. It sits on top of the wood a little more than doing the regular penetrating stain. The gel stain sits on top even more so you could try that next.

I'm not so sure that I agree.  I have had good result with General Finishes stains.  They seem to penetrate better.  

I find if I leave it on a bit before wiping, and repeat the application, I can get very good coverage.  I can never get the minwax with stain/poly together to get dark/deep color.

[pitterwoo]

but what would you do to make the wood grain more muted like her original piece? that's why I suggested the polystain in 1. I think getting the color and finish to match especially when you don't know how the first one was done is not easy.

[TBM]

Feb 3, 2013 20:11:39 GMT -5 pitterwoo said:

but what would you do to make the wood grain more muted like her original piece? that's why I suggested the polystain in 1. I think getting the color and finish to match especially when you don't know how the first one was done is not easy.

No, it isn't easy.   Neither is knowing exactly what op means without photos.  I was just guessing
that the stain wasn't penetrating enough to give even coverage so that
the grain didn't show.  Birch isn't exactly a majorly grainy wood, like
oak, kwim?  It shouldn't stand out.

Sometimes you have to mix colors to match it, and sometimes you just have to play around with how long to let it sit before you wipe the excess off, or how much to apply to begin with.

[pitterwoo]

yes, true I see what you mean. lots of messing around with it. I thought you were just saying that you thought it was easy.

[cajungal]

Feb 3, 2013 20:29:52 GMT -5 TBM said:

Feb 3, 2013 20:11:39 GMT -5 pitterwoo said:

but what would you do to make the wood grain more muted like her original piece? that's why I suggested the polystain in 1. I think getting the color and finish to match especially when you don't know how the first one was done is not easy.

No, it isn't easy.   Neither is knowing exactly what op means without photos.  I was just guessing
that the stain wasn't penetrating enough to give even coverage so that
the grain didn't show.  Birch isn't exactly a majorly grainy wood, like
oak, kwim?  It shouldn't stand out.

Sometimes you have to mix colors to match it, and sometimes you just have to play around with how long to let it sit before you wipe the excess off, or how much to apply to begin with.

Thanks for the help to you both! I'll post pictures tomorrow. I'm using Minwax right now so I'll look for the other stain brand you recommended as well and try that. I'll do the stain + poly after that if needed.

[cajungal]

Here is a closeup of the prefinished center.  It's actually a bit lighter than this.  It was hard to get a good shot of it.


And here's what it's looking like with the traditional stain on the new wood

[pitterwoo]

can you get that stain to go on any darker? like TBM was saying, letting it sit longer or applying more, or even applying a second coat? is that the darkest stain color or could you get something darker? maybe even mixing 2 dark colors together might get to the shade you need. It definitely looks like you need more stain and to get it more even.

also, does your original have a reddish cast to it IRL or is that just my screen? if it does you might need to mix another stain color in to get that tone.

[cajungal]

I'll try another coat tonight and see how it goes. I'll also look for the General Finishes stain. It looks like I need to go by a specialty bare furniture store for that. It may have a very slight red cast to it, but I not like what the picture shows. I think it has a weird reflection in this picture.

[cajungal]

Update - I ended up going to a bare wood furniture place. One of the owners took a sample of what I was trying to match and pieces from the bookshelf and mixed stain for me. I ended up using General Finishes Gel Stain and Gel Top Coat. It's not a perfect match, but it's really close. I'll add pictures once we get the bookshelf inside. Thank you for the advice!

[TBM]

I'm glad that you found something that will work for you. And someone who could help you out.

[jhawks482]

Looks like you got your answer already, but yeah, you are j ust going to need several coats of stain. Also, is your entertainment system real wood? I just ask because just because it has a "grain" doesnt mean its real. We just bought a really nice TV stand and the only thing that's real is the frame. The rest of it looks like real, amazing wood but it's not. Different woods absorb stain completely different. Anyway, you'd likely get to the finish of your existing center with a few more coats of stain. And, the only people that would notice a difference is probably you guys!

[sillygoosegirl]

Add another piece of wood furniture that has a 3rd disinct dark tone. Different tones of wood finish can look fine together. The trick is not to have just one odd man out in a room of matchy-matchy furniture.

[cajungal]

Mar 7, 2013 22:54:27 GMT -5 sillygoosegirl said:

Add another piece of wood furniture that has a 3rd disinct dark tone. Different tones of wood finish can look fine together. The trick is not to have just one odd man out in a room of matchy-matchy furniture.

The rest of the furniture in the room is white.  We're putting the shelf into the room this weekend so if it looks like an odd man out, I'll have to do just what you're suggesting.  Thank you!