If you’ve got a stained wood project that you need to perhaps repair or refinish and you need to match the stain colors it can be challenging to say the least. Matching an existing wood stain to make sure your work doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb requires a good eye and some careful work.
I’ve worked in historic restoration restoring wood doors and windows for years and if there is one thing I’ve learned it’s how to creatively use wood stains and finishes to get a perfect looking match. In this post, I’ll walk you through five of my best tips and techniques to achieve that perfect color match you are looking for.
This post was sponsored by Minwax who makes, in my opinion, the best wood stains for historic restoration. The opinions are completely my own and I have been using these products and techniques long before partnering with Minwax for this post.
Tip #1 Sand to the Right Grit
When using wood stain it’s imperative to sand to the right grit. Sanding wood too coarsely will create a darker appearance since there are larger pores and a rougher surface in the wood. Sanding to too fine a grit will result in wood that may not even be able to take in the pigments efficiently since the openings are too small.
I have found that the sweet spot for wood stain is between 120-150 grit depending on the wood. Keeping your final grit in this range allows for even distribution of the wood stain pigments.
Make sure that you work up methodically through each grit along the way to avoid swirl marks or sanding flaws. Start with a 40 to 60-grit for removal of the old finish and then move to 80-grit followed by 120-grit. Once you’re finished with your sanding use a tack cloth to remove every bit of dust in preparation for staining.
Tip #2 Know Your Finish
What are you finishing your project with? Is it oil-based poly, water based polycrylic, wax, oil, etc. You need to know what finish you are using prior to using any stain because some finishes add a bit of color. oil-based polyurethanes add a warm amber color to your work whereas water-based polycrylics are perfectly clear and can make the finish seem cooler.
On these doors I am using Minwax Helmsman’s Spar Urethane since they will be exposed to the elements. A spar urethane is designed to have more UV resistance and flexibility to resist exterior conditions. You can read more about the differences between regular and spar polyurethane here.
Tip #3 Pick the Right Stain
There are a lot of stain colors and brands out there, and ever since I have started I have been a pretty consistent user of Minwax’s oil-based stains. They have been around for decades and with their recently revamped formula I still get the same 36 color options, but I also get a 2-hour drying time which is a major help in finishing my projects on time.
Using their color chip fan wheel I can get a very close approximation of what color wood stain I will need. I simply hold the color chip up the wood and look at two important things.
- Grain color
- Sap wood color
Every wood has two parts, the grain and the sap wood and you have to match both of these to make your color match work which may take a combination of multiple stains. In my case, it looked like I could get the right grain color with Minwax Wood Finish Oil-Based Red Chestnut Interior Stain, but I needed more red in the sap wood so for this door I mixed in one part of Minwax Wood Finish Oil-Based Sedona Red. My final mix was 3 to 1 Red Chestnut to Red Sedona.
Tip #4 Color Match Samples
Before you go slapping stain onto the wood you may be wondering if you have the right mix. If you are unsure how things will turn out it’s best to use samples. Grab some similar wood samples and test your stain formula on them. Make sure you sand and clean them exactly the same as your workpiece so that they will yield the same results.
It’s imperative to match the wood species and find a grain pattern that is at least similar to your work piece. Shake the stain well so the solids mix properly and then using a cotton rag I apply the stain liberally but evenly and wipe it off with a clean rag after 3-5 seconds. You can leave it on longer for deeper penetration if needed up to 15 minutes.
Apply one coat and see what you end up with. Chances are good that the color will not look perfect even if you have the right match until you put a coat of polyurethane on it. I’ll keep a spray can of polyurethane so I can quickly coat my sample and see what the application of finish does to my work piece.
If at first you don’t succeed… try, try again. Keep mixing different wood stain samples to find the right tone and color until you are happy with the results. Minwax makes this easy with their small sample size wood stains that don’t break the bank. It’s almost like they know we’ll be experimenting a lot to find the right color mix.
Tip #5 Tinting Polyurethane
When color matching older pieces one of the biggest challenges is obscuring the grain. You may wonder why this matters. Good question! As oil-based polyurethane ages it has a tendency to yellow slightly and also become slightly more opaque. That means that a freshly stained and finished piece of wood will look different than the same piece of wood with a 20 year old finish on it.
Top account for this I like to add a little bit of stain to my polyurethane. You can safely add up to about 10% without problem. Any more than that and you risk adhesion problems. Make sure you are using oil-based with oil-based products and water-based with water-based products. Oil and water DON’T mix.
I noticed in this case that I also need a little bit of yellow/brown coloring to temper the red in the stain mix I used so I added my same 3 to 1 mix of Red Chestnut/Sedona Red stain along with an extra part of Early American to my spar urethane. After the first coat I noticed the red didn’t stand out so brightly and the tone of the wood was pretty much spot on.
I came through with two more coats of my tinted poly mix to finish everything off and was left with a couple doors that matched exactly.
Bonus Tips
There are books written on how to stain and finish wood projects so this is just a simple primer on the tips I have found most useful from decades of this kind of work. Here’s a couple more tips you may find useful, and if you do have a project give Minwax’s stains and finishes a look. They make it easy for us pros and DIYers all the same!
Tip 1: When working with certain softwoods like pine you may get blotchy results even if you sanded and stained properly. The solution to this is to use a wood conditioner, or in a pinch water can help as well. These open up the pores of the wood evenly so you avoid blotchy stain results.
Tip 2: Give the finish a light sanding with a fine sanding sponge and wipe them down with a rag moistened with mineral spirits between coats to get that baby smooth finish we all want. Just be careful that all that sanding dust is removed before you put down another coat.
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I love old houses, working with my hands, and teaching others the excitment of doing it yourself! Everything is teachable if you only give it the chance.
I’m in Florida and ordered a new front door with a wood grain look. It’s not wood. It’s some kind of plastic mix to withstand Florida weather.
Do I use a stain with polyurethane added? Would like for it to look like a wood door. Not sure what way to do this project. Help!
Thank you for this article. We have a second hand kitchen hardwood table and chairs. The top of the table needs to be refinished and coated with polyurethane. We have no idea if the original stain used was oil or water based nor do we know what kind of wood it is. We don’t plan to redo the entire table and chairs just the top. I am baffled at how to match the color (my husband said it won’t make that much of a difference since we are only doing the top) or what type of stain to use. Would you lean more toward oil or water based and how do you determine the type of wood?? I don’t have a color wheel just a Minwax brochure from Home Depot. Thanks for any guidance. We feel overwhelmed
Kim, Please check out Scott’s article here: https://thecraftsmanblog.com/how-to-determine-different-types-of-wood-finish/. These tips will work for wood case goods or floors. Furniture is generally finished with water based products (stain and clear coat), and this is what we recommend. As far as color matching, we suggest sanding a small section to reveal the natural wood finish. Then test your stain color there and compare it to the rest of the table top color. Best wishes on your project.