[fijidad]

I'm working on an old (1930's) clock case, having made the missing parts of the case out of Alder. I bought some Cherry Watco Danish stain and it's the right color, but the existing finish is less transparent. Any suggestions to make the new Cherry stain less transparent? Regards, Dan

 

[Steve Neul]

I'm working on an old (1930's) clock case, having made the missing parts of the case out of Alder. I bought some Cherry Watco Danish stain and it's the right color, but the existing finish is less transparent. Any suggestions to make the new Cherry stain less transparent? Regards, Dan

I'm not sure what you mean less transparent. Sometimes an old finish will yellow and sometimes over time dirt and oils can get imbedded into the finish. If it is just transparency you could scuff the new finish with 0000 steel wool and cloud it. If the finish is yellowed this can be recreated with amber shellac. If the finish has dirt and oils imbedded into the finish you can add raw umber tinting color to the finish to cloud it. If you could post a picture it would help.

 

[HowardAcheson]

Go to a real paint store and have them mix up a custom color. They can add more pigment which will reduce the transparency. Take some samples of your wood and the pieces that you have already tried to stain.

 

[fijidad]

I'm not sure what you mean less transparent. Sometimes an old finish will yellow and sometimes over time dirt and oils can get imbedded into the finish. If it is just transparency you could scuff the new finish with 0000 steel wool and cloud it. If the finish is yellowed this can be recreated with amber shellac. If the finish has dirt and oils imbedded into the finish you can add raw umber tinting color to the finish to cloud it. If you could post a picture it would help.

Good advice...thanks. I think I'll try the steel wool first; that may just do it. Regards, Dan

 

[fijidad]

Go to a real paint store and have them mix up a custom color. They can add more pigment which will reduce the transparency. Take some samples of your wood and the pieces that you have already tried to stain.

Good advice too. Matching colors is best left to the experts, I'm learning. Regards, Dan

 

[cabinetman]

You could try not stirring the stain, and letting it sit uncovered long enough for a quantity of the solvent to flash off, which would reconfigure the mix formula likely to be more opaque.

.