Hello All, I have RUTT cabinets in my kitchen that I’ve been told is a cherry veneer/overlay construction with a catalyzed conversion topcoat. I am trying to match the color of the cabinets for two items:
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Cherry quarter round to go around the base of all the cabinets. As you can see in the picture, the cherry quarter round is definitely a different color than the cabinets. Do you have any specific recommendations for stain/top coat to try and mimic the cabinet color more closely? Obviously this will be in a kitchen so it needs to be protected from water and cannot be left raw.
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A small piece of lauan (see last picture) that I installed because one of the cabinets was missing a toe kick. Obviously this color is way off so again, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
Replies
There are two steps to the process, repeated as necessary.
1: Trial
2: Error
Going to a good paint store with your material and a door or drawer might start you off better, but it will still come down to T&E. Because you're using two different materials you'll have to do everything twice.
If you buy one cherry board large enough to get the moldings AND the toe kick out of you can cut your steps in half.
Do you have a general starting point on stain color/brand recommendations? I am a total novice in regards to this.
Sherwin Williams will collor match stain and did a excellent job the 2 times I've used them.
You'll pay twice as much
Yes +1 on Sherwin Williams. I use them locally for almost everything.
Also sent people to dsi (one in Cincinnati) for excellent results.
I look up ML Campbell distributor list. Find one near me or the client. Then call that distributor and ask if they do color matching.
I've built a lot of cherry kitchens (all years ago) and a lot of cherry furniture. One thing I learned very quickly was how fast cherry oxidizes and darkens in the light. For example, I had to match a brand new cherry door to a year old cherry kitchen I built, and the easiest way to do it was to put the new (unfinished) cherry in the sun for a day. Time will vary, so it's a good idea, just like with fuming, to have a few scraps for testing. Take one inside after x hours in the sun and finish it to see if it matches, if not, leave it outside longer and test another scrap. You'll be amazed at how fast it darkens. Hope it helps!
Now after leaving it in the sun, what would you do to "finish it"? Sorry, I am a total novice in regards to this subject. All I'm trying to do is get the shoe to color match somewhat so that it doesnt stick out so obviously and then coat it with something to protect it from water since this will be in a kitchen. Thanks.
I went through a similar thing a couple of years ago. I tried the Sherwin Williams approach but wasn't happy with the result. Our cabinets are maple, which can be blotchy like cherry. The solution was lots of testing, which led me to use a very light wash coat of shellac followed by various aniline dye coats and finally some TransTint mixed into a shellac top coat followed by lacquer.
Tom McLaughlin of Epic Woodworking does a few YouTube videos on finishing maple and cherry that are worth watching.
Matching cherry veneer with a catalyzed conversion topcoat can be tricky, but you might try General Finishes "Candlelight" or "American Cherry" gel stain for a close match. Test on scrap first. Then seal with a water-resistant polyurethane or conversion varnish for kitchen durability. For the lauan, use a wood conditioner before staining to improve color absorption and consistency.
Attempting to match to modern industrial finishes is extremely difficult. These finishes are done in no humans involved closed environments with proprietary stuff that you probably can't get and might kill you if you could! Most likely the whole process took a full 30 seconds per door applied by robot. In reality it's much easier to restore a valuable antique piece of furniture than to deal with refinishing something manufactured by Ethan Allen.
If you have a room full of many stains and dyes and every top coat available and alot of scrapwood to experiment with.... and time... you might come up with something that to the naked eye passes as a match. I have a whole shed full of finishing materials and it probably represents at least a couple of thousand dollars in investment and in reality its not nearly enough! A close match can be very disturbing!
The other approach is don't try. Do something complementary.
By the way, some cabinet manufacturers can or will supply matching raw material to installers for trim or scribbing situations. Maybe Rudd does.
The gum pockets have changed color and will most likely never take stain. A alcohol-based stain will help as well as keep down the blotching that oil base stains tend to produce with multiple layers of stain.
Since they are only smaller trim pieces, I think you could get economically and visually 'close' with a mixture of Zinser orange shellac and a a few drops of brown Transtint. As mentioned, it will take trial and error, and I would not go this route for larger pieces that must match.