DIY Kitchen Cabinet Refinishing - GF new stain doesn't match old

[Ryan Cuenca]

Hello, Sawmill Creek community, and thank you very much for taking the time to read this.

About 1.5 years ago, we remodeled our kitchen and didn't price the cabinets in, thinking "how hard could it be to do it myself?" Well, after 100+ hours in of sanding down to bare wood, I know the answer to that question!

Being totally new to refinishing and generally speaking inept when it comes to being handy, I made every mistake one could possibly make. And now that the finish line is in sight, I realized I had made another boneheaded move: not buying enough of the same stain batch to finish the job.

I ran out of stain (GF Water Based Stain - Onyx) and when I bought some more and applied it, the color isn't close to being the same. I reached out to GF and they told me best I could do is to do a 2nd coat. I will do this if I have to, but I'm really curious if anyone might have a quart of the old stuff near my original batch number. Specifically, I’m looking for an Onyx stain with a batch number closer to 103631 and the VOCS are >160 g/l (and not >149 g/l as the new stain is).

As I've mentioned, I've put TONS of hours into this, largely because of my own stupidity and I really want all the drawer fronts and doors to come out the same! I'll pay handsomely for the old stain if anyone has some lying around.

If not, I'm open to some advice too as I'm not really sure where to go from here.

THANK YOU!

P.S. I've attached some pictures so you can see the difference in coloration I'm talking about, as well as other project photos.

[Paul F Franklin]

Bummer. Have you checked all the other GF retailers in your area? If you need to experiment with a second coat, perhaps thinned down some, you could test on the interior parts of the doors or drawer fronts were it won't matter much.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

What a tremendous undertaking! You might be able to bring those doors and drawer fronts around with some Minwax Special Walnut, or other color oil stain. Experimenting is key.

[John TenEyck]

How about some clarification of what we're seeing in the photos? Which are the doors from batch one, batch two?

It often is possible to adjust the hue by adjusting how fine you sand the piece and/or adjusting how long you leave the stain on before wiping. If the hue from the new batch is too light you also could let some of the water evaporate so it's more concentrated when you apply it.

Don't give up. Do some tests on the backs of the drawer fronts until you have a solution. And, yes, next time plan better.

John

[glenn bradley]

It is not uncommon to combine all sources of your finish into a common container and mix them together to assure consistent color for the job. With modern methods one should expect to have the same "color" match for a given product over time but as you have discovered, there is no guarantee. I can only recommend some tinting on sample boards until you gt a match you can live with. This is some extra work but with all the hours you have into this, a few more to make you happy with the result are probably worth it.

[Ryan Cuenca]

How about some clarification of what we're seeing in the photos? Which are the doors from batch one, batch two?

It often is possible to adjust the hue by adjusting how fine you sand the piece and/or adjusting how long you leave the stain on before wiping. If the hue from the new batch is too light you also could let some of the water evaporate so it's more concentrated when you apply it.

Don't give up. Do some tests on the backs of the drawer fronts until you have a solution. And, yes, next time plan better.

John

The lighter ones in the middle are the newer stain. The old stain as you can see was much darker. I can try leaving the new stain on for longer but I really struggle with work time. It is water based and dries very fast. If I were to do this all over again, I don't think I would do water based again because of this, especially on an intricate piece, too easy to leave lap marks all over if you aren't careful.

The other photos aren't really relevant to this post, just showing you a few of my project pictures. Thank you for your comments! Sounds like I just need to experiment.

[Ryan Cuenca]

Yes, I really wish I had the sense to do just that at the outset of all of this. Thank you for reinforcing the need for me to figure this out by some trial and error. I knew that it was a one in a million shot to find someone with the old mixture, but I figured I'd try anyway, and I've got some good advice out of it too. Thank you!

[John TenEyck]

If you mean the two in the middle in photo 3 are from the new batch of stain and the ones to the left and right are from the old batch, then you aren't far off, at least from what I can see in that photo.

I think I would go about bringing the hue from the new batch closer to the old batch with the following tests:

1) Sand one or two grits coarser
2) Increase the time before wiping off the stain
3) Two coats of stain, recognizing that you may need to thin the stain so as to not overshoot the mark.
4) Making the stain more concentrated by letting some of the water evaporate. You can add GF's Extend to increase the working time, if necessary.

If you were using GF's Dye Stains you could add some of it to your top coat to adjust the hue when you spray the first coat of finish. I wouldn't try that with their pigment stain, however, nor if applying the finish by hand.

John

[Ryan Cuenca]

Yes, those are them. Sorry, I can't see the photos I posted and I thought it was the first picture but you have it right.

Re: 4), I find this idea most intriguing because it might be the most time efficient. How would you suggest letting some of the water evaporate? Leave the lid off for a night inside the house where it's warmer?

[John TenEyck]

Yes, those are them. Sorry, I can't see the photos I posted and I thought it was the first picture but you have it right.

Re: 4), I find this idea most intriguing because it might be the most time efficient. How would you suggest letting some of the water evaporate? Leave the lid off for a night inside the house where it's warmer?

Yes, leave the lid off. Put a mark on the can to mark the current level. That way you'll be able to keep track of how much water evaporates over time. I'd suggest testing after every 5% volume loss.

Your comment about bringing the can inside where it's warmer begs the question of how cold the location is where you are applying the stain. Anything less than 60 - 65F is generally not a good idea. Some waterborne finishes don't play nice at all in low temperatures.

John