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!
Not a clue. White oak is darker than red oak, so first you have to lighten it by Bleaching it.
Next You have to come up with a color that looks the same...
You realize that the 4 coats of shellac if it had wax, then the one coat of "WAXLESS" still has wax in it, as the previous coats remelt.
You want to use DEWaxed > Got some white oak flooring laid, now need to make it match some
Professional floor finisher.
thanks to both of you for you highly helpful replies. I thought for sure someone would help. I thought of you two in particular. And no, WHITE oak is NOT darker than red. At least not the wood i have here.
Simply put, and no disrespect or snideness intended, if you have to ask the question, my reply is possibly, and infinitely, more "helpful" than you now realize?
You may have some luck staining close to the color, then using a toner in the top coat to match the rest of the floor, but if you had to ask the question it is obvious you do not have either the expertise, or the equipment, to make that work satisfactorily, at least without much trial and error, and possible ruination of surrounding areas.
The only thing left to tell you, if you decide to do it yourself, is to practice on some scrap ...
That's strange, all the white oak I have is darker than red oak. How did you manage that?
Well, it's never going to look "like" the red because of the difference in ray characteristics and the more porous grain structure of red vis a vis white (unless you use something on it that just essentially hides the grain/pattern entirely, anyway).
As Swing says, take some representative samples and starting working on finding coloring that at least comes close is about the only choice; particularly since you've already finished one so can't adjust both towards a common.
Why, may I ask, didn't you just get some red oak to start with if the idea was to match--it's far more commonly available in flooring anyway...
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Not difficult; there's significant color variation in both; particularly in the red.
I've got quite a bit on hand that I would call darker in red oak than much of the white, too...then, there's some in the stack that's the other way 'round. Heck, I don't know; depends on the particular board....and even section within :)
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IME, there are so many color variations in both that relying on color to be a distinguishing characteristic will probably fool you more often than not.
I have had both side by side in the shop and about the only way I could tell, being color blind, was to blow into the end grain, like you were shooting a blow gun. You will find that with red oak it is like blowing through a straw, and with most other oaks, the resistance to air passage is marked. AAMOF, there was some solution that my grandfather would use to paint the end of a stripped oak log that he could look at to tell which was which.
Being a youngster at the time, I just assumed it was some kind of magic. ;)
The other thing about mixing the two, at least in IME, is "time" ... white oak is subject to darken more than red oak over time after finishing. Another reason to be on your guard when trying to match the two.
I don't know this for a fact, but I always thought that white oak was named because parts of its bark turns white in the woods. I can generally spot a white oak from a distance by the lightness of the edges of its bark compared to other oak trees. Then again, that might just be wishful thinking on my part, but it usually pans out when I get close enough to see the leaves.
Wait till you actually put a finish on the white oak before you think it is not darker than red oak.
Perfect example ... this is a shot taken from the balcony of our lakehouse looking out toward our dock on Lake Hamilton, in Hot Springs, AR.
The large tree on the left is a white oak, guaranteed:
That's been my experience as well.
i suppose my initial knee jerk reaction was harsh. AND i suppose i didn't make myself totally clear. The wood i'm trying to match is not right next to the new. Actually, it's not even in the same room. The white oak floor is all brand new, i just laid it last tuesday. I have the red oak stairs i made from rough lumber myself 3 months ago around the corner in the next room. THAT room will get red oak flooring, because i'm going to take what i have back and buy red. Yes, it was my mistake buying the white. I didn't really even pay attention until i had about half the room laid. And no, I don't have the color mixing expertise, but i do have a LOT of scrap and unused flooring to experiment with.
thanks
After further inspection of MOST the pieces, and getting out some of the unfinished red, yes, I do see that the white is browner than the red.
Please see my reply to Tired of spam.
Right. If he knowingly did that, he deserves to pay.
-- Truth loves to go naked. --Dr. Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732
That info would make a lot of difference in how people reply, Steve.
Practice on a scrap, let it dry, and hold it next to the red. Adjust as necessary then use that blend on the new floor.
-- Truth loves to go naked. --Dr. Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732
"White" oak is usually wood from any of numerous species. Ditto "red" oak.
Some of them may well have bark that turns white but I guarantee that the quintessential one - live oak, Quercus alba - does not.
Sapwood from "white" oak is pretty light; heart wood is much darker.
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