New to forum so thanks in advance for any advice. New red oak staircase, skirt board, railing and used minimax guns to gunstock stain. Way too red! My wife wanted a more light/medium brownish color. I’ve only applied 1 coat, what can I do to get red out?
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Some solutions in order of ease:
1. Light bulbs have a color temperature, from 2700k to 6500k. Put in bulbs with a higher or lower color temperature, and the color of the wood will change.
2. Consider getting a wife who likes the current reddish color.
3. Use a dark brown stain.
4. Bleach the staircase using oxalic acid.
For 3 or 4, experiment on scrap first! For 2, also.
Ha! #2 is out of the question, as that would definitely cost me more than building an entirely new staircase!
There was a really good episode on Against the Grain podcast that delved into color theory for wood. I want to say that for too much red, a very light spray of green will make it more brown. Practice on scrap wood first. If you go out to Amazon and search for color wheel for woodworking, you will a color wheel that costs like 10 or 20 dollars that can help for this and other things. I almost always leave wood the color it is so please view my advice as thoretical rather than hands on work. Oh, and John C2 is correct view this all with the type of lighting you will be using as plays a major role. Good luck.
Thanks. I did read a blog somewhere about green killing red and could consider shifting toner from green to blue for a brownish red. They referenced using a "dye based toner, but pigmented will work too." Another commented to use "diluted dyes for shadowing" All of that is foreign to me, so if anyone knows where to buy/what to ask for/ and how to apply that would be VERY helpful
Search for analine dyes for woodworking. I like Lockwood. Get water based if you try, NOT alcohol soluble. The alcohol evaporates so fast you can't avoid lap marks and streaking.
It is correct that adding green will make it more brown. However, your problem is that the stain you have on the stairs and rails is now dry and is, I assume, an oil based product. Usually, for the color change to take place, the colors must mix. I would be concerned that any other you apply now will stay on the surface and simply give the surface a greenish tint. Also, even if you could get the two stain colors to blend, the result will be a dark brown and you state that you want a light brown. I think your only options are to leave it and proceed with your finish or remove all of the existing reddish brown that you can with solvent and then apply a new stain of a color you prefer. As mentioned, experiment on some scrape before you do anything.
Thanks bilyo. It is actually a miniwax water based stain. Not sure if that would make a difference, but I do understand what you're saying. I've only applied 1 coat and yes, it's dried. I have sanded a small area and it lighted up that area but still just a lighter red. Hate to have to strip entire staircase!
If it is a water based stain, using an alcohol or water based dye like Transtint, might work. Try it on some scrap.
I have little experience using water based stain. Will rubbing with a wet rag lighten it up or even remove it? I doubt it, but worth a try. Try it with alcohol and/or other solvents.
John's comment above about alcohol drying fast is correct, but it may be the only way to get a green dye to blend and produce brown. Dissolve the dye in water first and see what it does (on scrap).
Thanks bilyo. I stained a scrap piece an hour ago so I'll let it dry for 24+- hours then try these suggestions. Will hopefully post positive results!!
Thanks for the follow up. Looking forward to hearing how it goes. For some many of these posts, you don't get to hear what happened. I really look forward to hearing what the eventual outcome is. Must not be busy enough in real life, lol.
This won't solve your current problem. In the future if you don't find the color you're looking for Sherwin Williams does custom color stains.
No suggestions on how to modify the red color but I have used Gunstock in the past and it is really 'red' in my opinion. Just recently I refurbished a solid eastern red cedar chest which went kind of OK except where I messed up the end cap boards for the top. I could not find any eastern cedar thick enough locally for a fix so I got some western red cedar and through a combination of a brown stain and the Gunstock I got pretty close to the original look of the eastern cedar. Off topic but there were several 1953 year old newspapers in the chest when I got it. They listed Gabon ebony for sale at a local lumber yard, no price, and you could buy a '41 Chevy for a minimum downpayment and a weekly payment of $1.98/week. Times have changed.
Hi,
Any fix is going to be laborious and the key to success is experimentation off the project. The problem area will be the open pores.
It is worth a try to go after the project with abrasive pads in combination with a solvent. For oil base stain I would choose naptha (high purity mineral spirits) and for water base stain I would try alcohol. Of course I would first try this on a piece of scrap wood of the same species with the same stain.
My guess is, this might loosen the surface layer of stain so that it can be removed with a rag (and/or wet-vac) and also rough up the surface to help accept a different stain (though maybe not in the deep pores). If deep pores continue as an issue, maybe follow with the oxalic acid bleach suggested above.
Another approach is to sand the oak and follow up with a commercial wood grain filler which is designed to fill the pores and level the surface prior to finish sanding. Usually this is applied thick then rubbed off cross-grain with something like burlap. But I don't think pore fillers accept stain once dried so any stain or dye needs to be added before application. Again, off-project experimentation is the key!
Good luck!
I haven't gotten back to try these suggestions yet (working for a living!!) but do plan to go tonight and tomorrow. I have scrap wood stained, so i will try to give it a good sanding then experiment with options listed.