I have a customer that wants me to make her some shelves out of clear pine. She has laminate flooring in the room that is an classic oak . She likes the “color” of the laminate (which looks like real oak with a clear coat) and would like the shelves to resemble the floor as best as possible. She understands that pine is not going to resemble oak, so we’re not talking about trying to make the pine itself resemble an oak with the grain and all. Just would like to achieve the “color” of the oak once the oak has been clear coated.
So, I would like to know if anyone has any “formulas” from past experimenting perhaps, that would help me with taking a piece of clear pine and applying a finish to resemble the “color’ of clear finished oak.
Obviously I will experiment on my own, just figured this road must have been gone down before, trying to make pine look like oak. Just want to be clear I’m not trying to make the two different species of wood resemble each other in grain etc….just looking to get the color tone to match as best as possible. just wanted to make that clear before I get hammered with posts explaining that pine is pine and oak is oak 🙂
Appreciate it.
Mick
Replies
Why not oak, it surely can't be much if any more expensive than clear pine and is a snap to finish, even if you have to match a laminate color. Frankly, the extra time and effort to get the color right, and avoid blotching on the oak would make the total cost of doing the job less using oak than pine, assuming you want to get paid for your time.
Pine on the otherhand is one of the toughest woods to finish, though since you need only a light coloration not too impossible. I would probably try a wash coat of blonde shellac at about 1/2 lb. cut. (If you use Seal Coat, mix about two parts of alcohol with one part of Seal Coat.) Then I would apply a dye that matches the basic color of the oak. You will have to make a number of test boards to determine the concentration of the dye.
If the oak is a rather classic golden oak, then you might get pretty close using a couple of coats of Amber Shellac. mixed to about 2 lb.cut.
Question, why is pine "one of
Question, why is pine "one of the toughest woods to finish"?
Yes, the color tone of the "oak" laminate ia along the line of classic golden oak. I was also thinking somewhat about a shellac, perhaps Amber.
Unlike oak, pine tends to blotchiness. Dyes blotch to some degree, the commonly found dye/pigment mix stains do it to a great extent, and even pigment only stains like gel stains will sometimes have problems. That's why just about everyone has mentioned some sort of wash coat or "conditioner" before adding color to pine. Itcan also have sap pockets and knots that can bleed sap. This is particularly true when buying pine that hasn't been kiln dried down to furniture moisture levels, but only dried down below 19% for construction lumber. This can well be the case from the big boxes. (The additional heat "sets" the sap.)
Good info, appreciate it. I figured that a washcoat would be necessary with pine.
As one who doesn't havea lot of experience with "wash coating" could you recommend a washcoat procedure that would be good for pine in this instance?
You will have to make the decision on the color but mixing golden oak stain with clear stain has worked for me to get sort of close. I would use a pre stain conditioner on the pine.
I will add that to my experimentations and see how it fits. Thank you. I want to make sure I understand you correctly, so can you be a little more specific when you say "clear" stain?
Any particular "conditioner" that you could recommend?
Many manufacturers make a natural or clear stain. When I have to cut a stain for a lighter color, I mix it with some of the natural. When I'm trying to get a "formula" for a color, I use a syringe. This allows me to make repeatable measurements without using too much product, 2 parts to 1 and so on.
I got ya". I just wanted to
I got ya". I just wanted to make sure I was on the same page with what you were referring to as far as a "clear".
Syringe.......good idea.
Hi Mick,
I've stained pine to match oak that was stained a golden color in the past and the formula was 2 parts Minwax Golden Oak mixed with 1 part Zar Salem Maple. If the oak laminate looks like natural red oak, try mixing 1 part Zar Salem Maple with 2 parts mineral spirits instead of the Minwax stain. Check with zar.com or ugl.com to find the nearest supplier for the Zar stains. Zar does well on pine with minimal blotching.
If you use a washcoat or stain conditioner, the wood will stain lighter and you may have to adjust the formula. Do a small test piece to check the color and when you get a mixture/color you like, do a good size sample from start to finish to make sure everything is okay.
Thanks Paul, I'm going to check on the nearest Zar supplier and give the "formula" a shot along with the others mentioned here
Thank you..
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