Adjusting color of poly finish to match existing cherry cabinets?

[Mark R Webster]

Is it possible to mist color over a water base satin polyurethane to adjust the tint. I added a section of new cherry cabinets to my kitchen recently and the color is significantly different from the original cherry cabinets built 4 years ago, the new ones are a lot grayer. The original cabinets I sealed with tung oil and after thoroughly drying I top coated with Deft. Over the last 4 years they darkened beautifully with a deep reddish golden color. In the interest of durability I decided to use a polyurethane on the newer second half of the kitchen. I tested a piece of cherry comparing the tung oil and a shellac based sanding sealer as seal coats, the color appeared to be the same so I used the shellac as a sanding sealer this time. I then sprayed with General Finishes PreCat waterbase Poly which gave me a great finish but the color is a lot grayer than the older Deft coated cabinets. My first though was that the color would match after a few years. It has been a couple of months now and I get the feeling the color is not going to change in the same way as the first set. After asking around, it appears that the WB Polys may not allow the color to darken in the same golden rich way I experienced with the tung oil Deft combination. I don’t think the PreCat has any official UV blockers. With the poly already applied, can I go back and mist with a dye of some sort to give the new finish a more golden/reddish tint and add another top coat of poly, or should I just strip and start over if the color bothers me enough?

[Scott Holmes]

Misting a dye would not work.

Spraying a toner (clear finish with color added) could be the solution. You could add the color to your WB finish.

Question... how are you going to gauge how much color to add so you don't end up with the new section being darker than the original after a couple of years?

[Mark R Webster]

Hi Scott, thanks for responding. Good question, I suppose I could try to give it a hint of color using a toner, changing the tint from gray to reddish/orangish and hope the more significant darkening happens over time catching up to the original cabinets.
It seems my options are:
1. to do nothing and hope for the best
2. just go ahead, strip and refinish with another material
3. try your toner suggestion keeping it light. If the toner idea doesn't work I could still strip.
Have you had any experience with the WB polys and cherry? Have you seen the color change to the classic rich cherry over time?
Again, thanks for your suggestions/comments
Mark

[Scott Holmes]

Color shift has more to do withthe wood itself than it does the finish, although WB tend to have a bit less color shift.

[Mark R Webster]

Thanks Scott
Mark