# Matching existing knotty pine color



## cmac2012 (May 12, 2014)

My favorite clients have yet another job that requires me to come up with the right shade, color, stain.

Their bathroom walls are tongue and groove knotty pine paneling. A few pieces have termite damage. I'm replacing those and in a few months they're going to do one of those whole house tent and fumigate routines. But they want to get rid of some of the worst items they can find first.

Staining pine is always a challenge for me. I'm experimenting with Min wax Pre-Stain and a few colors. I'll then put polyurethane on those and see what the final effect is. Here is some of the existing wall:


----------



## mikeswoods (May 18, 2009)

That will be a challenge---investigate the Varathane colors--Also--Poly might not be the best finish to match that vintage paneling---an old fashioned varnish might look better---poly is very yellow and has a different sheen than varnish---


----------



## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

It will take a lot of tinkering but you can do it if you are patient. The problem you are up against will be when it was originally done there was little or no stain put on it. Over time the wood has darkened from light. Also the clear varnish has substantially yellowed as it aged. What you will need to do is mix a stain or dye that will simulate the the aged wood. Then you will need to put a coat or two of amber shellac on to simulate the yellowed varnish. You probably need to pre-finish the paneling before installing it. If you need more than one coat of amber shellac that is very difficult with a brush. You really need to spray it. Once you achieve the look you need you can topcoat it with lacquer or old fashion varnish. I'm not sure but I don't think amber shellac is available in a de-waxed version. You can't put polyurethane over standard shellac so you would need a barrier coat of a de-waxed coat such as Zinsser Sealcoat. Anyway if you are not spraying it, it would be extreamly difficult to brush Zinsser Sealcoat over the amber shellac to allow you to apply polyurethane. Shellac and Sealcoat are both shellac and the alcohol in the shellac will dissolve the dried finish that is already on there. This makes it awkward brushing it and what makes spraying it preferable. You will need to get some scraps of pine and practice the finish and don't be surprised if it takes you several hours to come up with the color.

You will need to stain the wood to look like the old pine in this picture before using the amber shellac.


----------



## cmac2012 (May 12, 2014)

Good advice. I had a feeling that poly was not going to be the final choice. I have a fair amount of extra wood to practice stains and finish. Re-paneling the whole bathroom would be the best route but that would be just a tad difficult. Would be claustrophobic as hell - they're living there of course, and they use their house for their business, dealing with clients there almost daily.

There seems to be a slight reddish tinge to the existing as well.


----------



## mako1 (Jan 25, 2014)

You might try a few different cuts of amber shellac.This will get you very close.Strat off with a thinner cut and recoat until you bet there.


----------



## cmac2012 (May 12, 2014)

Are you talking about making my own shellac? I've read of this many times but I must confess I've never done it. I'm off now to buy a couple of cans of spray shellac. Stuff comes in handy anyway.


----------



## Quickstep (Apr 10, 2012)

Caramel Amber or Garnet shellac look like they might be the ticket for the color you need to get. If you're going to top coat with something other than shellac, you'll need to either use de-waxed shellac, or decant the shellac after you make it. To decant it just means that after you mix the shellac you have to let the wax settle to the bottom and skim the clear un-waxy shellac off of the top. Making shellac is easy. You just measure out the amount of flakes you need and dissolve it in denatured alcohol. It dissolves faster if you grind the flakes up first. I use my wife's little electric coffee grinder. Shellac.net has everything you need.


shellac.net


----------



## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

cmac2012 said:


> Are you talking about making my own shellac? I've read of this many times but I must confess I've never done it. I'm off now to buy a couple of cans of spray shellac. Stuff comes in handy anyway.


Shellac only has a shelf life for about six months if kept in a cool place and you don't know how long it set on the store shelf before you bought it. Folks that use shellac regularly often buy the shellac in flake form so they can mix smaller batches to be assured it is fresh. The only shellac I ever use is the amber shellac which I use to simulate an aged finish. I've never mixed shellac flakes either, I just use the pre-mixed.


----------



## RandyReed (Jul 30, 2014)

That color is awful dark, so I dont think you will get to that color with shellac alone. When you start to make several coats with shellac, you start to obscure the grain of the wood. 

I would look into the Wood Classics® Interior Oil Stain and look to get a color somewhere around SW 3106 Pantry Peach or maybe even the SW 3113 Cinnamon color, then apply your poly. You can get poly in a couple of different sheen levels. Of course, Do this on scrap woods first to get close to a match.

I would also take a piece of the old pine with you and maybe they can point you to the closest color. Its sometimes hard to get a good match looking on a PC screen, LOL.

Polyshades is another option and is color and poly in 1 step. Use 3 coats.


----------

