Got some white oak flooring laid, now need to make it match some existing red oak i have already. The red oak has been finished with BLO, and 4 coats of shellac, and one coat of waxless shellac. (in case i wanted to poly later). Anyone got any suggestions as to how to come close to making this white oak look like the red? I realize the grain structure is completely different.
thanks in advance!
White Oak is notorious for taking stain poorly. If you wanted the new floor to match the Red Oak, you probably should have put down Red Oak.
Sanding then blending a couple of stains is the only way I've done it, but I've never stained white oak, only red.
Find a store that will take back unused or barely used stain. Buy three or four colours and try to blend and match. Maybe pick up some white oak vaneer at a supplier if you don't have any scrap to practice on.
Good luck!
Use tinted poly and put on enough to match. Stain is too tricky and too permanent.
Joe
Take a chip of the red oak and a piece of your white oak down to a good paint store....find the oldest guy working there and ask him to match your color, then try the color on your white oak. Bear in mind, the white might darken/yellow over time on exposure to sunlight. I would favor the exact color, if you get a match, and not worry too much about a little lighter or darker. The finish on your floor must look pretty glassy....shellac not too soft for traffic? It is similar to old piano finishes.
Joe, thanks for the VERY long day, so very long story short:
Spoke to the gal in the flooring dept at HD, she assured me they do NOT sell white oak flooring. Sooooooooo, Got the managers name, went up in person with the unused portion (16 out of 27 bundles) and he not only agreed, they should never have had a pallet of white oak in the store, but he gave me credit for all 27 bundles, PLUS a 30% discount on a nice new Bostitch floor stapler. Took a while to jump through all the hoops, as they only had 9 bundles of red in stock as opposed to the 94 they showed on the computer. Had to stop by the other store on the way home for the balance. Good news: No more money spent 'cept the nail gun, and Bad news: I have to rip up a 12x15 room full of 2 1/4" flooring. But it'll be the way we want it in the end. We've only been working on this house 6 years as it is. By the time we got headed for the store, my wife and I had already agreed we'd tear it out even if we had to buy it again. Live and learn. Read labels, double and triple check what they bring to the door.
Thanks for all the input.
Norman, thanks for the reply. Here is the update i posted VERY long day, so very long story short:
Spoke to the gal in the flooring dept at HD, she assured me they do NOT sell white oak flooring. Sooooooooo, Got the managers name, went up in person with the unused portion (16 out of 27 bundles) and he not only agreed, they should never have had a pallet of white oak in the store, but he gave me credit for all 27 bundles, PLUS a 30% discount on a nice new Bostitch floor stapler. Took a while to jump through all the hoops, as they only had 9 bundles of red in stock as opposed to the 94 they showed on the computer. Had to stop by the other store on the way home for the balance. Good news: No more money spent 'cept the nail gun, and Bad news: I have to rip up a 12x15 room full of 2 1/4" flooring. But it'll be the way we want it in the end. We've only been working on this house 6 years as it is. By the time we got headed for the store, my wife and I had already agreed we'd tear it out even if we had to buy it again. Live and learn. Read labels, double and triple check what they bring to the door.
Thanks for all the input.
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