Matching interior stain/varnish

[Daddyo]

It's finally time for me to begin tackling some interior varnish projects. My DeFever clearly has a reddish stain under the varnish. Anyone just happen to know by some miracle what a good match is?? If it isn't a stain it is the reddest varnish I have ever seen. It has had 32 years to darken. The color looks more like mahogany then teak.

 

[Phil Fill]

Why not just sand/scuff lightly and apply new varnish coat?

Original is used Bear Bavarian Oak, but can not find it. So I now use two MinWax stains mixed to get the right color.

Teak does vary in color and texture from a light to dark red/brown. If you look down out 50 ft rub rail each piece is different and even each piece absorbed differently. there are a couple Interior areas I had to sand down and re stain/varnish. I though they where going to look terrible, but they turned out to look OK and looks like deep wood grain. Beside NOBODY put you will know the difference. We are most critical of our work, and wood it be looked at from a distance, NOT nose length.

 

[Brooksie]

Make up a test piece and try several stains or mixtures. Use a piece of your existing wood if possible. Put a quick coat of the varnish you will be using over it to get the full effect.

 

[Nomad Willy]

Brooksie we made test pieces like that in college in a finishing class.

I like a redish hue on teak an am thinking about how to achieve what I want so your post is a good reminder. Seems to me age old knowledge says the stain should go on the wood and not between coats of whatever.

One could put on a coat over a square foot or a bit less and see how it looks. Wipe it off and try something different and repeat until happy then let the small spot dry and see if it stays the same color. Sand off if it dosn't and repeat.

I don't think staining is recommended w/o wooding down. May work though if you have a solid covering of excellent old varnish w no bare wood spots. Ideally I think staining the wood and coating w clear is the way to go.

I agree Daddyo ... red stain looks wonderful.

 

[Larry M]

I believe it's out of print but "From Gunk to Glow or the Gentle Art of Refinishing Antiques and Other Furniture" has a few hints. The book says that by using 3 stains, walnut, maple and mahogany, you can match virtually any wood color. To lighten the shade of any given color, you dilute the stain (s) with turpentine.

 

[Brooksie]

Brooksie we made test pieces like that in college in a finishing class.

I like a redish hue on teak an am thinking about how to achieve what I want so your post is a good reminder. Seems to me age old knowledge says the stain should go on the wood and not between coats of whatever.

One could put on a coat over a square foot or a bit less and see how it looks. Wipe it off and try something different and repeat until happy then let the small spot dry and see if it stays the same color. Sand off if it dosn't and repeat.

I don't think staining is recommended w/o wooding down. May work though if you have a solid covering of excellent old varnish w no bare wood spots. Ideally I think staining the wood and coating w clear is the way to go.

I agree Daddyo ... red stain looks wonderful.

Yes, the stain should go on bare the wood first. There are "sanding sealers" that can be applied to softwoods first to even out the stain. I've never used one. Also, there is "varnish stain" where the color is in the varnish. Never used that either.
I wouldn't count on staining a spot and sanding it off because it penetrates the wood fibers and would have to be bleached out, the bleach causing its own set of problems.
I have successfully stained under Cetol on teak with a very pretty result see ladder in this pic. Also under epoxy / varnish, also good.
I try not to use Minwax brand stains (except under their own varnish) as I think they contain styrene which MAY not be compatiable w/ Cetol or epoxy.

 

[awpptdt]

Redish like mahogany, well it may very well be laun/mahogany, all of the paneling in my Marine Trader is laun plywood with a teak photo finish applied. Photo finish is a very thin semi transparent film that has the appearance of teak, it comes in vertually all wood types, it is applied to the base wood to give the appearance of real teak. It prints through to give it a wood grain appearance, it can not be refinished as it,s thickness in generally .01" thick or less. If it gets wet it will turn a whitesh color or may turn dark due to mold. On my Marine Trader I purchased 3 mil thick teak verneer plywood from World Paneling products World Panel Products Inc to cover over the walls. Wall paper or paint are a couple of other options.

 

[healhustler]

I have to agree with Larry M. on this one. I had some damaged teak veneer in my boat and took a sample to a local lumber yard, played with the stains till I got close. After that, it was just a matter of adjusting the last coat of stain. It came out very close to the original and since the area is not in bright light, you can't really see it. I was even able to match a knot pattern by mixing ebony with the others and practicing with a dab here and there.