Stain color adjustment
Hi. I've got red oak cabinets, trim, and baseboards finished in a "natural" polyurethane, factory finish. I don't think there is any tint to this. My doors in this location are all pine. I've tried several stains ("Honey oak", "Early American", etc.) on scrap pine to accurately match the stained pine to the existing oak. They all look somewhat close, but lack that red tinge you see in the natural red oak. There is no manufacturer I've seen in my location that sells a "red oak" stain. So, I'm looking for recommendations on what 2 stains to mix to get the red oak look; or, what to add to a base stain to get some red into it. Thanks. TIM/
Your best bet might be to go to a paint store,,one that deals primarily in paint and talk to some of the help there. There are stains that contain some degree of red in them. from there you would have to use some scrap pine as a test board until you get the right mix by adding a little at a time,,,,,,which you would have to poly also to see the final outcome. Remember that some polys are clear and some have a little yellow in them which tends to darken the final result.
I'm sure I've seen red oak stain from some of the major brands at big box stores. But if not, do you have any unfinished furniture stores around? They usually have a wide array of stains & finishes beyond the major brands and some will even mix--we even had one that you could take a piece of wood to and he would color match (sure wish he hadn't decided to retire at age 75!). Marci