Trim Tint

A friend of mine who seems very knowledgeable at times told me that 2 parts Red Mahogany stain and 1 part Walnut stain would be a good mix for tinting the light colored redwood to match the darker stuff. Well, it was more like 10 to 1, but since I started with the 2:1 mix I now have a lifetime supply of tinting stain. Even after adding a lot more Red Mahogany I ended up thinning it even more with 1:1 ratio of BLO and turpentine. I really, really have a lot.

In the end though, it worked out. Here is the before shot. You can see how the left and right casings are much lighter than the other wood. As I said the other day, the wood is really nice tight grained old-growth wood. It is just very light for some reason. The header casing on the door at the right is cut from the same piece of wood and so has the same problem.


Here it is after tinting. I did the door header first and was concerned it was too dark. That is the mix prior to adding the BLO and turpentine. Then I diluted it even more and did the other two. In this picture they still a look a little light, but in real life it is a pretty good match. I may go over it once more though.


Staining the wood is not like doing a traditional stain job. Normally, I would use a brush to apply liberal amounts of stain and then let it sit for 5 minutes before wiping it off. Here, I just wanted to darken the color a little bit. I worked with a folded up paper towel that was dipped in the stain and then rung out well. I then rubbed the paper towel on the wood. There was usually no excess on the wood at all. Any amount that was on there was quickly wiped off. The stain was applied so lightly that I never once had to change paper towels.

Today I was able to get most of the trim installed on the butler’s pantry side. There is not a lot to it, really. I also needed to build a false wall behind the center panel on the upper section. On the butler’s pantry side that will be shelving and I wanted to hide the backs of the burl panels for protection as much as for aesthetics. So the wall is built and three shelves installed.

I can’t do any more on the butler’s pantry side until the center section is trimmed out on the dining rooms side. I need to build a little door jamb for the pass through door before the rest of the trim can be done on the butler’s pantry side. Before I can do the center section trim on the dining room side, I need to get the counter in. That means Monday I need to call about marble or the whole project could grind to a halt while I wait for some stone guy to return my call.

I can move forward with the drawers though, so that will be the next project: 7 Drawers.