Tinting lacquer due to poorly mixed stain

[Chris Ambroson]

So here's my problem. I built a TV stand and finished with with Minwax English Chestnut stain covered in lacquer through an HVLP. Due to minimal space in my garage, I built the cabinet first and then built the doors and shelves.

When I stained the cabinet, the can of stain was full so I didn't get all of the pigment off the bottom of the can. When I built the doors, the can was only 2/3 full so I went to town stiring it. After all was said and done, the doors have more of a reddish tint than the cabinet.

Lesson learned, pour the stain into a bigger container is necessary and completely stir it. Also, have the person at home depot give a good shake in their paint mixer before buying it.

But that doesn't fix my problem. Can I tint some lacquer reddish brown (like the crayon Burnt Sienna for those of you still kids at heart) and spray couple more coats on? How would I do this?

[Scott Holmes]

Yes, you can spray a toner (tinted lacquer) to adjust the color; there is no way anyone on this forum can tell you what color to use.

Experimenting on your almost finished project is NOT a good idea.

[Chris Ambroson]

I was thinking of just building a new top for it and staining it to match. The face frame and sides will be mostly hidden anyway. Then I'll experiment on the old top and if it works, I'll spray the sides and face frame, if it doesn't, I'll have a new top and I'll just deal with the mistake and learn for the next project.

If all else fails, it's just birch plywood and poplar... I'll just paint it white like the rest of the trim in the house.

[Conrad Fiore]

+1 for what Scott said.
But I have a question about the construction. Did the birch ply come out a different color than the poplar, or was it that you have a mix of wood that came out different colors?

[Chris Ambroson]

The birch and poplar were slightly different due to different species but they looked close enough that it doesn't matter. The color difference I was worried about was because I stained the cabinet and the doors at separate times. I stirred up the pigment more with the doors and they ended up slightly redder.