Our hardwood floors are Brazilian Cherry. I have some unfinished shelf's that I wanted to match the color of the floor. However, I can't seem to find a stain that comes close to our floor. I tried all of the off the shelf minwax stains (Cherry, Mahogany, etc). Nothing comes close. Does anyone have any recommendations?
Thanks Amy.
Amy -- in a similar situation (actually, I was trying to stain Brazilian Cherry to match rosewood) I went through every variety of reddish stain on the shelves of the borgs, without success. Then I went to an unfinished furniture store (that advertises that they also can do the finishing for you) with a sample of my rosewood furniture and a piece of unfinished Jatoba (Bz. Cherry) and they made up a custom oil stain that matches very closely. A quart cost $20, but I'm still using it 3 years later (In fact, today I just finished staining and installing a built-in bookcase using Jatoba and this custom stain}.
Potential problems: If your unfinished wood is something with a distinctive grain (e.g., red oak), a softwood (pine, fir) or is known to not take stain well (poplar) your finished product will never look like the Jatoba because the differences will be obvious. Also, for best results you will probably need to use a sanding sealer before appllying any stain. Good luck -- Regards
Well, that would depend on what your shelves look like, what the floor looks like, etc. etc. And then it is probably next to impossible. Matching finishes, even on the same wood, is very difficult and takes luck.
try contacting the manufacturer and see if they can sell you a small amount.I did tree years age and they sent me a pint for free.
Len
When you applied it to a completely different species of wood, with a different clear coat on top, it matched, and it stayed matched over time? That's very surprising, you should consider yourself very lucky.
Personally, I prefer different species to slightly (or sometimes totally) contrast and complement each other. For example, maple that "matches" red oak just never looks right to me, much less maple that matches walnut! On the other hand, different tones can set each other off and create interest, if done correctly. I might use stains and toners to move a wood in a certain direction, depending on the desired look, but not to match. If I want a perfect match, I use paint.
Try making your own stains with powders from targettcoatings.com. There may be others that turn up in a Google search as well. HTH
Joe
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