Bartley Jet Mahogany on Cherry?

[Toller]

I am on a fool's errand; trying to "match" an existing piece. It is Ethan Allen's dark cherry, which I suppose is a tinted lacquer. The closest I have come is a cherry dye with Minwax Rosewood gel stain. It not quite dark enough, and looks too much like wood. Besides, dealing with the raised grain from the cherry dye is not an attractive thought.

I have been surfing the stain manufacturer's pages and have come across Bartley Jet Mahogany. Unfortunately the only store I know that carries Bartley is on the other side of town, so I thought I would post here first to see if it is worth the trip.

Has anyone tried this product? The look I am aiming for is pretty dark brown with just the vaguest hint of grain coming through. (I know, maybe an outdoor "semi-transparent!)

Yeh, I know, why would anyone do something this horrible to nice cherry. Sorry but it was't my idea; the piece looks so good now.

[ddowel]

From my experience, you will never match the piece with stain alone. Your best bet (and I am assuming that you have or have access to somewhat suitable spray equipment) is to add some dye (I use transtint) to lacquer, and gradually tint the piece until you achieve the match. I keep two different batches available, one that is redder than the other, so that you can switch between the browner and the redder as you get close to the match. Of course, if it is a valuable piece, your best bet is to practice on a scrap piece of wood. When I did this I used minwax cherry pigment as a starting point. I have used Bartley's Cherry and Mahogany before, and would be hesitant to start with the Mahogany without a test piece, as it may bring too much brown into the picture early.

I can say without question that glazing with tinted nitrocellulose (I haven't yet tried glazing with waterborne lacquer, but won't hesitate to give it a try) will yield you a very close match if care is given with multiple coats.

I repeat, I seriously doubt you will ever come close to matching the existing finish without glazing as I have described.

Good luck

dd

[bridger]

hey, I betcha the wood under that ethan allen rbs isn't actually cherry. alder has about the right grain and takes stain well.....

[todd]

I recently used Bartley Jet Mahogany on a cherry table I made for an acquaintance. I tried to persuade against it, but he really wanted a dark color right now. Actually, I was pretty pleased with the results. I put a top coat on of several coats of Bartley Gel Varnish. I posted a pic in a.b.p.w in case you want to see how it looks.

todd

[Toller]

Would you believe it is not dark enough?!?! I will try a second coat this evening.

[todd]

I was finally able to post the picture. And mine is with two coats of the Jet Mahogany. It's really not that dark. It will get a little darker with the second coat, but not much.

todd