[Robert Loney]

Hello,
Here's a really dumb question from a very unskilled wood worker:
I got a couple of veneer pieces removed and replaced in attempting to repair some dog damage to the bottom of some fairly pricey sliding glass doors. I did the best I could choosing the veneer and didn't stain them assuming the color would warm up substantially as I applied an ArmorSeal coat or two to them. With the first coat, the color didn't warm up anything like I'd hoped. The color is still really very far off.
I don't need it to be a perfect match and understand that it'll never be perfect. But, now that the first coat of ArmorSeal is on, I wish I had chosen a stain to color them closer to match the rest of the veneer on the doors.
I know this isn't a proper way to do this, but I consider one of three options:
1. Just apply a stain over the first coat of ArmorSeal to see if it would work to darken the color. Or
2. Give the veneers a serious sanding hopefully to remove much of the ArmorSeal and then apply a stain.
3. Continue to apply coats of ArmorSeal understanding that this will darken the color with more coats.

Anyone have any comments about the likelihood of applying a stain over a single coat of ArmorSeal working as a fix for this?
Thanks for any help or comments.

Robert
Picture to follow showing the new veneers applied horizontally at the bottom of the doors.

 

[Steve Neul]

Hello,
Here's a really dumb question from a very unskilled wood worker:
I got a couple of veneer pieces removed and replaced in attempting to repair some dog damage to the bottom of some fairly pricey sliding glass doors. I did the best I could choosing the veneer and didn't stain them assuming the color would warm up substantially as I applied an ArmorSeal coat or two to them. With the first coat, the color didn't warm up anything like I'd hoped. The color is still really very far off.
I don't need it to be a perfect match and understand that it'll never be perfect. But, now that the first coat of ArmorSeal is on, I wish I had chosen a stain to color them closer to match the rest of the veneer on the doors.
I know this isn't a proper way to do this, but I consider one of three options:
1. Just apply a stain over the first coat of ArmorSeal to see if it would work to darken the color. Or
2. Give the veneers a serious sanding hopefully to remove much of the ArmorSeal and then apply a stain.
3. Continue to apply coats of ArmorSeal understanding that this will darken the color with more coats.

Anyone have any comments about the likelihood of applying a stain over a single coat of ArmorSeal working as a fix for this?
Thanks for any help or comments.
View attachment 445180
Robert
Picture to follow showing the new veneers applied horizontally at the bottom of the doors.

Matching a color is difficult even for an experienced finisher. If I was bidding the job of finishing that door for you I would bid two hours labor just to make the stain and I've been matching stain since the 1980's. Your best bet would be to take some scraps of oak to a real paint store such as sherwin williams and get a good picture of the color which really matches the color of the door and have them mix a quart of stain for you. If you want to try it yourself purchase a stain which is close to the color you want, Just don't get Minwax, the color can't be altered other than intermixing it with another Minwax stain. Try it out on some scrap wood and post a picture and I will try to tell you which colorants you might need to alter the color. You would probably need red oxide and yellow oxide and maybe some white.

 

[Robert Loney]

Matching a color is difficult even for an experienced finisher. If I was bidding the job of finishing that door for you I would bid two hours labor just to make the stain and I've been matching stain since the 1980's. Your best bet would be to take some scraps of oak to a real paint store such as sherwin williams and get a good picture of the color which really matches the color of the door and have them mix a quart of stain for you. If you want to try it yourself purchase a stain which is close to the color you want, Just don't get Minwax, the color can't be altered other than intermixing it with another Minwax stain. Try it out on some scrap wood and post a picture and I will try to tell you which colorants you might need to alter the color. You would probably need red oxide and yellow oxide and maybe some white.

Thank you so much for your kind reply, Steve!

 

[danrush]

I've seen guys work miracles with Mohawk aerosol toner spray. Get a couple different closely matching colors and lightly mist, blending as needed for color.

 

[Robert Loney]

Thank you for this.