Replies

1. 
   Eef | Nov 09, 2009 10:29pm | #1

   cq,
   it is probably my stone age machine, but i do not get an image when clicking the link.
   but even without a visual, i know of what you speak. that staining technique is all about "hiding". i would also scout about for a cheaper wood, were it me doing the job.
   eef

1. 
   blewcrowe | Nov 10, 2009 08:01pm | #12

   I think a lot of that stuff is Poplar. 

   Denny

1. 
   Eef | Nov 10, 2009 08:12pm | #13

   good morning denny,
   working for a huge school district as one of the few and far between wood shop instructors, i see the insides of alot of "please repair this furniture". much of it is from the 70's going as far back as the 30's. poplar was the secondary wood of choice.
   eef

2. 
   DonStephan | Nov 09, 2009 11:40pm | #2

   I've read of the process but never tried it. 

   It might begin by bleaching the wood to achieve as uniform a starting point as possible.

   Dye stain to darken towards the final color, perhaps half way. 

   Seal with shellac, vinyl sealer, depending on preference.

   Stain to get closer to the final color.

   Seal.

   Glaze to provide some depth and again get closer to the final color.

   Seal. 

   Tone to get to the final color.  Toning consists of adding color to sealer or finish and spraying one or two coats to get the final.

   Top with 2-3 coats of finish.

    

   You can probably get close to the look without using all of the steps, but each adds some depth to the overall look.

   A number of finishing books may give you specific products for a particular schedule.  Try one or two on some wood to see how close you are.   As mentioned, it's possible the pieces were made using alder or poplar or something else for cost reasons.

3. 
   MikeHennessy | Nov 10, 2009 01:40am | #3

   I've used maple for faux cherry before and it worked well. It has a similar grain structure/pattern to cherry, so it can be pretty convincing. You're lucky that you're trying to match a mass produced item -- they're basically painted anyway so they can use sticks with heartwood & sapwood mixed. I've had good luck with cherry gel stain.

   Mike Hennessy
   Pittsburgh, PA
   Everything fits, until you put glue on it.

4. 
   stantheman | Nov 10, 2009 02:12am | #4

   CQ 

   I have a room of that furniture.  Are you sure that it is real cherry?  I thought it might be poplar, stained dark cherry.  I remember when we got it, the literature all said "hardwood" but not specifically cherry.  Looking at the inside of drawer fronts and other unstained areas, it doesn't appear to have darkened or show grain like cherry. 

5. 
   glenaspen | Nov 10, 2009 07:41am | #5

   Alder can be stained to look like stained cherry. It has a remarkably similar grain pattern. The problem is, I don't see any cherry figure in your photo, possibly because it's not cherry at all. Still, I'd use alder rather than poplar to try to match that piece. It's very uniform in color where poplar is white, green, and even purple, often in the same board. JMO

6. 
   ring | Nov 10, 2009 08:48am | #6

   Using Red Alder will go a long way to getting you what you want.

   David Ring

   http://www.touchwood.co.il/?lang=e&id=1

7. 
   SteveSchoene | Nov 10, 2009 03:44pm | #7

   As was mentioned, the original likely has several layers of toned finish as the manufacturer wanted to obscure the underlying wood.  You can get fairly close with a basic multistep approach of dye, sealing, pigment stain, seal, gel stain glaze. 

   Without spray equipment and spray products it is really hard to use toner to really build the commercial finish. 

   The real question is WHY?  Few interior decorators would want all the pieces in a room or a house to have matching finishes.  When you make furniture your self you have opportunities to use finishing methods that give a finish that is considerably better than all but the best of factory furniture. 

   My strong suggestion is not to try to match the finish, but to aim for a look that coordinates or harmonizes with the other furniture.  Make the color sufficiently different that it doesn't look like you tried for a match and just missed the mark.  That can give you pieces to be proud of and not just lose your effort and craftsmanship among pieces of factory furniture. 

8. 
   CaseQuarter | Nov 10, 2009 05:22pm | #8

   Hey everyone,

   Thank you all so much for the input. You know, I assumed it was cherry, but may well not be, it may have been one of those "All hardwood" marketing ploys. The inside of the drawers do not look like poplar, in fact it may be cherry but regardless it is a very poor grade of wood and it is covered to the point that it probably doesn't matter anymore what it used to be.

   I actually like the idea about just making the nightstands different, doing them the way I would want to, and not worrying about matching. I personally prefer finishes that don't alter the color of the wood much, maybe warm it a bit but that's all. I may try to go that route if the boss will let me, but otherwise I will just do as I'm told. Sad, huh?

   I appreciate the ideas on different woods and finishes too. I hadn't thought of maple but that does make sense if I'm just going to dye/stain/glaze it to death anyway. The alder also intrigues me. I'm not sure that I have seen it before (I'm in Alabama) but I think I will make a trip to my hardwood dealer and see what they have at different pricepoints. Maybe something that is cheap, has fairly consistent lighter tone, and a similar grain pattern to the existing furniture would work fine.

   If it were done with poplar and then darkened to that degree, would the green disappear?

   Thanks again

1. 
   SteveSchoene | Nov 10, 2009 06:00pm | #9

   Now you can point out that to really make a matching finish you would need about $800 worth of spray equipment.  Either you get to use a natural finish, or you get tools. 

1. 
   CaseQuarter | Nov 10, 2009 06:15pm | #10

   Hey, I like that idea. I'm sure I would probably need a wide belt sander too to flatten up all those glued up drawer fronts and stuff. This could work out great.

   Actually the truth is that if I try to match the existing stuff then it will only be a close color match but not in shine or level of film thickness on the top, etc. On the other hand, if I could build it of good wood with a new finish then that might open the door to one day making some other pieces to match these. In my head that is sounding more and more like a good idea. I'll just have to see what the Mrs. has to say about it.

2. 
   stantheman | Nov 11, 2009 02:22am | #14

   CQ

   Now that someone suggested alder, that may be closer than poplar.  I noticed my Kincaid Cherry Mountain furniture has some boards that have some stunning figure in it (if you look really close) but all mixed up with plain and random boards.  So that is a shame. I agree that the color is added through toner, not stain, based on the overspray on the back of drawer fronts.

   I think it might be easier to match the hardware, and that is what people will notice if you can get close enough in color. 

9. 
   YesMaam27577 | Nov 10, 2009 07:10pm | #11

   Call me an old curmudgeon, but to me, that looks nothing like cherry. Not new cherry, not 50 year old cherry, not 200 year old cherry.

   It looks more like deeply stained mahogany.

   But semantics aside..........

   Most of the moderate-priced furniture, and all of the moderate-priced cabinetry these days is not made from the wood that's in their name. For example, "Mountian Cherry" is really a color of stain that has been applied to less-expensive woods like birch and poplar.

   The stain is of the type that looks the same regardless of what wood its used on -- more like a semitransparent paint. So even with frame-and-panel doors, the wood species can vary with a single door. Birch ply for the flat panel, poplar for the stiles and rails.

   So my advice is to get some birch ply, and some poplar or alder -- maybe even some clear pine. And get some stain -- try the Cabbot stuff at the home centers. And make up some samples of finished wood.

   When you find on that matches the pieces you have, and coveres the differences among species -- you've got it.

   I won't be laughing at the lies when I'm gone,
   And I can't question how or when or why when I'm gone;
   I can't live proud enough to die when I'm gone,
   So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here. (Phil Ochs)