There are two problems that plague us when we try to find just the right stain for our projects. Either the perfect color stain is not available, or what looked perfect in the store looks different once you get it home and onto your wood. The solution for the first problem is to learn to mix custom colors and, for the second, to make repeatable sample boards. In this article, I'll guide you through both processes. Although I'll be talking about pigment stains, the same rules also apply to dyes, glazes, paints, toners, putties and pore fillers.
The Right Color
It's easy enough to change a color when you can see what you need. For example, if your brown stain is not red enough, add red, but what do you do when the stain is too red? To "erase" a color, add its complement. For example, the complement of red is green. Add green to a stain that is too reddish brown and it will "remove" the red and make it more neutral brown.
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| To "erase" a color, add its complement. When you add orange to blue, its complementary color, you'll end up with a neutral brown. |
Three basic complementary pairs exist. Memorize them and they will get you through most of your mixing woes. They are the Christmas pair (red and green), the Easter pair (purple and yellow) and the Denver Broncos pair (orange and blue.) Each color of a pair will negate its partner. If you forget the pairs, just look at a color wheel. Complements are always opposite one another on a color wheel.
Most woods and most stains are some variation of brown, from light tan or cream to very dark. There are yellow browns, greenish browns, purplish browns, and so on. The key is to learn to look at "brown" and see the green, red, orange and other color variations within it. Playing with color, which you do when you make sample boards, will help you identify these subtle differences. Bear in mind that black makes colors darker, but white makes them both lighter and muddier. Yellows and oranges will sometimes brighten up colors, making them lighter without getting too muddy.
The Right Ingredients
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Can't find the right color? Look for a paint chip that is spot-on. Purchase a quart of paint in that color and reduce it by adding equal parts paint and solvent. Flood it onto the wood, wipe it off, and you have an instant, custom color pigment stain.
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Before we dive in and get our hands dirty, you need to know what materials are compatible. You can mix two or more store-bought stains if they are the same base. Oil-based stains will mix with other oil-based stains, and waterbased will mix with waterbased. In addition, you can add concentrated color pastes, which are available in several forms.
For oil-based stains, use artist's oil colors, which are sold in tubes at any art or craft supply store, or Japan colors, which come in cans at most woodworking specialty stores. Artist's oils will slow down the drying time of the stain slightly, but Japans will not. With waterbased stains, use either artist's acrylics, also in tubes at art stores, or small squeeze bottles of waterbased acrylic craft store paints, which are both cheaper and less concentrated. Neither will affect drying time. Remember that you can always weaken your final color by adding more solvent: mineral spirits with oil stains and water with waterbased.
Mixing It Up
It's time to make a sample board. Since wood already contains color, and since stain only adds to that, your sample board must be from scraps of your project wood for accuracy. Sand the wood with exactly the same sequence of grits and types of sandpaper that you'll use on the real thing, because how you sand and what paper you use affects the way wood grabs stain. Mask the board into sections and put your "starting" stain on one section. Write the brand, color name and date on the back. Using a tablespoon or teaspoon, measure out portions of two or more stains, or portions of stains, color concentrates and solvent.
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| Your sample board must be scraps of your project wood, sanded exactly as you'll sand your project. Mask the board into sections and put your "starting" stain on one section. |
Write the brand, color name, and date on the back. Next, measure out portions of two or more stains, or portions of stains, color concentrates and solvent, and stain the next block of the board, writing the formula on the back of that block.
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Having these formulas lets you mix the same stain again, in any volume you need. |
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Stir well, then stain the next block of the board, writing the formula on the back of that block. Having the formula lets you mix the same stain again in any volume you need. Keep complex formulas in a notebook, coded with a number that matches one on the back of the stain sample board. Bear in mind that clear coats slightly alter the look of colors, so once you've made your samples, seal them with whatever clear finish you plan to use.
When it Doesn't Work
There is a cheap trick for those days when you just can't seem to hit the color. Go to the paint or home store and find a paint chip that is the perfect color. Let the clerk mix a quart of paint in that color, take it home, and reduce it by adding equal parts paint and solvent. Use mineral spirits for oil-based paints and water for latex or acrylic waterbased paint. Flood it onto the wood, wipe it off, and voila! - you have an instant, custom color pigment stain.