Staining A Rustic Desk
Friday, February 19, 2010 at 12:00AM Getting A Good Match
Today I was staining the desk. The stain had to be matched to the existing trim and so you may wonder how do I handle this?
Staining the desk.
As a professional I rely on other people around me to make my work successful. One group of people that I rely on quite heavily are my various suppliers and in particular the stores that match paint and stain for me.
I am quite partial to two paint and finish suppliers as they both serve me well and I am sure that both would like to be my exclusive dealer in all things regarding paints, stains, and finish. I use both the local Pittsburgh Paint dealer, which also carries Sikkens and M.L.Campbell products, and the pro Sherwin Williams store.
For this project I took in a piece of base trim and had Sherwin Williams do the color match. They nailed it pretty good as you can see here.
Comparing stain between trim sample and desk.
You have to develop an eye for understanding what a stained surface will look like once you add the finish. The finish will change the surface color a little bit. By working with color regularly, you will also develop a sense for the different tones that are often present in a nuanced fashion. This sense develops over time the more you deal with color and matching which is a regular exercise in my remodel business.
One brand of stain that I favor is Sherwin Williams' BAC Wiping Stain. This product dries to topcoat with solvent finishes in about 30 minutes, for a water base finish you must wait 24 hours. My shop is a little cool due to the winter weather so I give it a couple of hours before shooting a pre-cat lacquer. This by far beats something like Minwax or Behr stains which take 24 hours minimum to dry before topcoating with anything.
SherWood BAC wiping stain.
That is all for now. Be sure to stop back often.
Your friend in the shop - Todd A. Clippinger
Share the Love~Share the Knowledge
Reader Comments (6)
Wow, the desk is looking good. So is your website.
Thanks Bob. I am working on it everyday - both the project and site that is:)
very nice, i didn't not know sherwin did color matches on stains.. learned something new.
do you spray in your shop or do you have a separate spray area?
David - Currently I just use the assembly area as the spray area as well.
Sherwin does stain matching for me quite frequently. As a remodeling contractor I am constantly matching existing colors and over the years, they may not have the same appeal as straight from the can.
do you setup with plastic or cover your tools in some other way, i have my shop in my garage currently and have been contemplating either setting up a tare down spray booth i can setup outside or covering the tools for inside...
David - I just spray in the open.
I use pre-catalyzed lacquers or catalyzed varnishes. There are a few benefits to this.
These products dry really fast so I do not need a hermetically sealed room. The other benefit is that any overspray lands as dry fall on the equipment. That means there is no finish residue or mist drying on the equipment as with latex or oil based products that stay wet for a long time.
I have to be sure to turn off the furnace when I spray so I do not have any explosive issues. After spraying I dump the air out of the shop. This only takes a couple of minutes with opposite doors and windows open. Then I close up the shop and turn the furnace back on.
It sounds like a lot of work but it is not. You also have to realize that dumping the air out for fresh air doesn't really cause the surface temperature of everything in the shop to drop. It is only the air that drops temperature and so it heats back up very quickly. Without the vapor in the room it is safe to run the furnace.