I’m thinking of building a table for our living room but I want the finish to match, or come close, to the existing furniture. The existing stuff is furniture store cherry stained a very dark color, almost black. I had Sherwin Williams mix me some stain to match but the only way to get it that dark is to apply a very heavy coat and not remove the excess. This almost looks good but I’m afraid on a real piece of furniture the vertical pieces are going to run and look really rotten.
I keep reading about mixing dyes and stuff into a shellac and spraying repeated coats on. I don’t have a sprayer and have never used dyes. Is this still an option? Is using dyes like hit and miss to get the right color? Any better suggestions for getting this really dark color on cherry?
Thanks.
Steve
Replies
I would say you might just have to let it sit awhile longer and maybe repeated coats. I would suggest using soft maple or red alder as an alternative wood if you're going this dark (almost black, burgandy) it will save you a ton of money.
John E. Nanasy
Steve, you'll almost certainly need to apply color as a glazing. It's easier than you probably realize.
If your stain is oil based mix a small quantity with thinned varnish of the same solvent. I generally use varnish thinned about 20% with mineral spirits and 10% to 15% stain. Brush this thinned glazing on and apply it as many times as you need to to obtain the color you're looking for. Then just topcoat with as many clear coats as you want.
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Lee
Furniture Carver
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