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1. 
   Michael_Richwine | Mar 12, 2000 06:20am | #1

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   Color matching for touch up is really pretty easy, but it sure helps if you can get somebody to show you. I've trained a number of people, and demonstration works a lot better than explanation.

   Be that as it may, here are a few hints:

   Go to an art supply store and get an artist's color wheel for less than $5.00. It will show the Prang system of color mixing which will demonstrate how the primary and secondary colors mix, and what they look like when white, gray, or black are added. There ARE some surprises for the uninitiated.

   A "finisher's color wheel" tries to show how the earth colors mix, and it helps a little, but the colors are not very accurate. Available from suppliers of touchup materials.

   Next, get some clear acetate or mylar sheets from the same art supply store and "smudge" your touchup powders thinly on one sheet with padding lacquer, and paint a thin mixture of touchup powder and padding lacquer on another sheet. These will help a lot in finding which colors are in a particular finish you are trying to match.

   Touchups are a substantial part of my living, and I mix my own colors for both dye and pigment stains, since it seems I am always matching something or doing a custom colors. I don't stock many colors -- just the seven or so basic earth colors plus red, yellow, blue, black, and white in pigments, and the 3 primary colors plus black in dye stains. I also carry silver and gold bronzing powders for doing metallics. So far, that's been plenty.

   When you match a finish, look for the background, mid, and foreground colors, and match each one separately. This is usually pretty easy because they are usually related, except on pickled or limed finishes. Blonde finishes often are developed over a weak coat of white.

   Lay in the background color first. It is usually the lightest color you see, and can be laid in over the whole area under repair. KEEP THE REPAIR CONFINED ONLY TO THE DAMAGED AREA. Don't try to overlap into the good parts -- it ALWAYS looks like hell.

   Next, paint in the midground grain with a fine brush. Try to connect the existing grain lines in a visually coherent manner. Then paint in the dark, narrow grain lines with a graining brush or even an artist's colored pencil. (Actually, you can do a very fine repair with just colored pencils in many situations!) Sometimes I cut in an open grain with a scribe or blade and fill the scores with pigment, especially on walnut and oak.

   The biggest mistake beginners make is having the colors too thin. Your colors must be built up in thin layers in order to maintain transparency and a natural look. Make your colors WAY too thin, and then thin them some more and you'll be OK. I mix my powders with touchup medium (either lacquer + retarder, or shellac with alcohol and glycol ether as a retarder -- Padding lacquer should work OK) on a piece of glass for easy cleanup. Don't try to match by looking through the glass; it's way too blue.

   Above all, STAY LIGHTER than the surrounding finish. Every step you take will make the repair darker, and once you are too dark the repair is ruined. The repair will also darken a little as it cures. Seal between each layer with a THIN coat of aerosol lacquer or other medium so that you don't lift the color you've already put on, and dry each layer for a minute or so with a hair dryer.

   This should help you get started -- I probably didn't think of everything nor make myself entirely clear, so feel free to ask questions. It takes a lot longer to write than to do. Typical touchups take me 15 to 30 minutes, and I'm not real fast.

   Try mixing India or Venetian Red, Yellow, and Black for your mahogany. Quit when you have a hard time finding the repair when you return to it. Overworking is counterproductive.

   Michael R
   KC