Replies

1. 
   VaTom | Mar 02, 2004 04:56pm | #1

   Lime is traditional.  Dilute white paint works pretty well.  Bear in mind that whatever you use will leave the open grain very different from the unstained white oak.

   PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!

1. 
   Quickstep | Mar 02, 2004 05:06pm | #2

   In the interest of making my title breif, I got the wrong point across. I don't want to make either of the woods actually white in color, I want to make the red oak look closer to white oak and I'm wondering if anyone did this sucessfully and would share the recipe with me.

1. 
   jackplane | Mar 02, 2004 05:38pm | #3

   Oxalic acid or regular bleach will help remove the redness,leaving it closer to white oak. Be sure to wash coat with water afterwards before applying a finish.

1. 
   Quickstep | Mar 02, 2004 05:45pm | #4

   Good idea. Do you think it's necessary to follow with any kind of stain?

1. 
   jackplane | Mar 02, 2004 06:01pm | #6

   I wouldn't.But Bill is correct that green will counter the red.

   If you stain or dye then,color the treads and floor the same.

2. 
   BillHartmann | Mar 02, 2004 05:50pm | #5

   I would working with with dyes. I think that it is green that will counter the red. Look and see what is oposite the red on the color wheel.

   Then add some raw umber for the brown.

   One of the advantage of the dyes is that you can remove them with easly with bleach and try again.

   Ask Jeff Jewwitt over in his forms on Homestead Finishing.

   
   

   ---

   Edited 3/2/2004 9:52:22 AM ET by Bill Hartmann

3. 
   TEConnor | Mar 02, 2004 07:01pm | #7

   I have done as you intend with reasonable success.  I experimented quite a bit with a variety of stains (mostly oil-based).  I also tried a variety of top-coats and strategies for toning.  What I found to be the most efficient and reasonable process for a large job (300 sq ft in my case) was to apply as few products in as few steps as possible.

   Here is what worked for my situation (assume that each type of wood was prepped for finishing in the same manner...sand to 220, vacuum the pores):

   white oak - apply dilute reddish brown dye.  Best to use water-based dye for large surface area to avoid lapping.  I would wipe on dye sparingly (don't flood onto oak as it will ring around the pore tubes) and then wipe off.  After achieving an undertone of red-brown and dye is dry, then apply a coat of Zinsser seal coat (2 lb dewaxed shellac).  Top coat with a toned finish.  I have had reasonable color success with Minwax Polyshades (oil-based urethane) "Classic Oak".  If you want to use a different brand, you could purchase a sample of this and then color match with a oil-based stain added to an oil-based urethane or water and water.  Apply several coats of the toned top coat until it is similar to the red oak (see below), then apply untoned finish coats.

   red oak - apply no dye or stain and simply go straight to untoned finish.  Apply as many coats as needed for protection.  If there is insufficient brown in the color, then apply a seal coat of garnet dewaxed shellac before applying the top coat.

   Of all my expirements I found that staining with oil-based stains left a lot to be desired in terms of color control.  For whatever reason, I found that mixing my own dye was very helpful and I could wipe away color in places to achieve a good uniform color that I wanted.  For whatever reason, oil-based stains seem to congregate in the pores of the oak too much for my taste and not apply enough color to the wood fibers themselves.  Toning the top coat (urethane or varnish) with dyes/stains was the ticket to achieving the final color tones for me.  I guess it was luck, but the "classic oak" color from minwax was just the ticket in my case.

   Cheers,

   Tim