Oak color matching

Re: Oak color matching

Dave Thompson


>Hi Jack,

Your best bet is to test out what you want to do on your cutoffs and see if it works for you. My guess is that you'll probably be fine mixing the two. As you probably know some red oak looks white, and some white oak look pink, so one can't reliably go by color. The larger pores in the red oak are a better give away. They can also hold more glaze/filler/pigment, so that's something to consider when you do your test.

My recent project has involved alot of QSWO color matching with red oak (I'm trimming out a victorian house). My finish has been a Minwax red oak stain and orange shellac. Medullary rays aside, one can't tell a difference in color with this finish. It is though, a darker antique finish.

Other projects where I've mixed the two species and just used a tung oil or BLO finish, I notice more of a difference in grain than I do anything else... and then only if I look closely.

I've only fumed a single species, and so I can't comment on whether or not they fume at the same rate. I think it's best to experiment with your cutoffs.

enjoy,

Dave

Re: Oak color matching

Jack Guzman from Maine


>Thanks Dave. I'm going to try some dye matching. I really need to start playing with finishes.The reason I'm so ignorant on this subject is because I generally avoid it.---Jack

texture will be an issue too

bill tindall


>White oak tends to be less porous so you could have some texture issues to deal with in matching. The color variation in white oak from tree to tree is typically much greater than the case for red oak, with considerable color overlap between them. The red in red oak won't last in sunlight. They will both go to a warm brown. The white oak typically will be a darker,more or less, depending on the tree it came from.

You may want to let the wood age to see what color it is going to be before you try color matching. If the sun is still shining that far north, set pieces in sun for a while.

Re: Red Oak fuming

Glenn Madsen on the road still...


>Caveat: I've never fumed anything myself.

Rumour has it that white oak fumes well, and red oak doesn't. Red oak, at least some of the commercially available ones, turn towards a greenish tint with ammonia fuming.

Dyes are more consistent and predicable. And I do have some experience in that area, most of it successful. I happen to like the alcohol-soluble ones myself, because they dry quickly...

Have fun!

Re: Oak color matching

dave caudill


>You know Jack Jeff Jewitt has written a couple articles on this and I have tried them and they work really well. He sells the transtint stuff and its just a matter of experimenting with them to get the desired color. Check out his articles on his website at Homsteadfinishing.com. I think he covered it in an article in Fine Woodwokring as well. And you can always call him. He is a wealth of information although I've always found him a bit abrupt. I think he did an article on fuming as well not too long ago.

Also the methods he uses are a bit safer to do then the fuming method. I looked into fuming as well and it seemed like it was going to be a bit of an effort to do and with some risk whereas the other methods are pretty safe and easy.

Let me know if you want the article from FWW and I'll try to find it in my collection.

Dave

Re: Oak color matching

Jack Guzman from Maine


>Thanks Dave,I'll check out his website.---Jack

Transtint & Oak

Derek


>I talked to Jeff Jewett and got his selp to pick some transtint colors to use one time when I had to match the color of a piece I made for a friend out of white oak (no red though). The hard thing was the piece was a secret for his wife and I could not acually have the original piece in my shop to do the color match so we did a series of mixes of dyes and tried them out. It came out well - he took a board with the various experiments home and secretly compared teh colors - took several tries with 5 or so experiments each.

A couple of warnings -

Dyes are not color fast - UV light will bleach them over time. I have first hand experience with this.

Watch out for metamerism - colors look different in different light. Use as close to the lighting the piece will end up in to compare the colors.

Good luck. I find color matching difficult but rewarding.