Oil Stain Color Matching

[Mike Hollingsworth]

I'm really hoping the experts here can help me with this problem:
10 Years ago, I built some bookcases out of Walnut and stained them with Behr Oil Stain in Red Mahogany. Fast Forward and HD no longer sells the product and my search comes up nada. I've done my best with all brands of Red Mahogany oil stains and have even tried mixing among those colors, But nothing satisfactory.
MIK_3596.jpg
Closest I can get is the pinkish shelf on the left. I'm trying to match the larger shelf on the right. Seems I need some kind of Amber Colorant.
I'm stumped and my project is totally stalled.

[George Bokros]

If you can take a piece with the finish on it to Sherwin Williams they can match the stain for you. They did it for me, match my woodwork stain the builder used so I could add matching crown molding and chair rail to my house.

Give it a try.

[Mike Hollingsworth]

Give it a try.

I gave them a call. They only match water based stuff.

Scott?

[John TenEyck]

Really? Try a different SW's. Or just use the WB stuff. But custom mixing your own isn't hard but it sure requires patience and good note taking. If you want to try it again, start with the closest commercial finish you can get, and get some OB artist's colors to adjust the color. Make little batches using a gram scale or ml syringe, put it on some scrap, adjust as needed. I recently made nearly 3 dozen specimens in order to match the color on an existing piece. Perseverance.

John

[Mike Hollingsworth]

Please understand that I'm in California with no custom tinting available for oil products. Water Base will just NOT work.
But thanks for the suggestion.

[John TenEyck]

Ah yes, CA. OK, then roll your own. Unless you are color blind it's just patience and perseverance.

John

[Wayne Lomman]

Mike, your new stain is a little too red, a little too light and a little too sharp and clear.

To fix the red, add a little bit of bright green. You will have to find where to get some as you don't need much. The rule is green kills red (and vice versa) and also makes the colour a bit darker.

To fix the lightness, apply successive coats letting it dry in between. Don't wipe it off with a new rag, use a stainy one. Don't go too far as you need to keep in mind the next step.

To fix the excessive clarity, add stain to the first coat of clear so that your first coat is effectively a toner. Bear in mind that this will also darken the job, so don't go too far with the stain.

Good luck with it. It will work but practice on scrap first. Cheers

[Mike Hollingsworth]

To fix the red, add a little bit of bright green.

bright green what?

[Steve Schoene]

Universal tinting colors or artists oil paint. If you choose artists colors don't go with the cheapest which may have waxy filler.

[Wayne Lomman]

Steve probably has the best source of green - I am on the other side of the world. I have a tins of dye type stains in bright green, bright red, bright yellow and black. However you are only using tiny splashes at a time so they have lasted me for years. Cheers

[John TenEyck]

Mike, can't you still buy artist's oil paints in CA? Good grief, how restrictive is it there? If you can, that's the easiest stuff to use to dope your stain. Buy the purest bright green they have. UTC's will work great, too, but for a one off a tube of artist's paint will cost a lot less.

Wayne's advise is spot on on how to go about it.

John