# Staining red oak to match white oak?



## CNYWOODS (Apr 22, 2012)

Another project I'm working on is fixing( replacing) a few drawers in my camp kitchen. I want to order the drawers unfinshed notched and bored. I'd do them myself but the notch and bore is over my head. Any how the company doesn't offer 1/2" white oak ply bottoms, just red. The drawers need to be white oak. I have tried a few sample pieces using the Mohawk wiping stain 545 burnt umber and the red oak of course is a tad oranger then the white when stained. Is there a way to get them to match better or do I just have to deal with the difference .?


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

CNYWOODS said:


> Another project I'm working on is fixing( replacing) a few drawers in my camp kitchen. I want to order the drawers unfinshed notched and bored. I'd do them myself but the notch and bore is over my head. Any how the company doesn't offer 1/2" white oak ply bottoms, just red. The drawers need to be white oak. I have tried a few sample pieces using the Mohawk wiping stain 545 burnt umber and the red oak of course is a tad oranger then the white when stained. Is there a way to get them to match better or do I just have to deal with the difference .?


Some White Oak looks the same as Red Oak. If you are that concerned you might be better off going to a lumber yard and picking up some White Oak plywood. Or, if you have the lumber, rip it into sections, and half lap them together.








 







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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

It would take some tinkering with samples first but you can mask the rest of the drawer and spray the red oak with a green dye stain to counteract the red in the red oak. Then you can stain it like white oak. Now when I say stain it green I don't mean green like green paint. It's more alcohol than green so it's just enough to take the red out. The green dye is an aniline dye which can be obtained in powders or is available premixed with wood alcohol.
http://www.mohawk-finishing.com/catalog_browse.asp?ictNbr=178

It might be a lot simpler to see if you can order the drawers unassembled. Then you can cut and install you own 1/2" white oak bottoms.


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## dat (Nov 11, 2010)

all the red oak I've messed with was definatly reddish/ pink. it will lighten over time but shows back up when the finish is on. I'm thinking you may have to bleach it first. 

I don't know, but I'll be looking in to see all the answers you get


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## Woodenhorse (May 24, 2011)

You can bleach it with Oxalic Acid then stain to match. May not be a bad idea to also bleach the white oak to reduce the difference even further.


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## CNYWOODS (Apr 22, 2012)

I actually have some green aniline dye kicking around that i used in some intarsien projects.I'll dilute it down and give it a shot. Thanks never thought of that.


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## HowardAcheson (Nov 25, 2011)

Woodenhorse said:


> You can bleach it with Oxalic Acid then stain to match. May not be a bad idea to also bleach the white oak to reduce the difference even further.


Oxalic acid is not the bleach that removes the natural color from wood. For that you want a two part A/B bleach. Many paint stores carry it or it can be bought on the internet.

Oxalic acid is the bleach used to remove mineral (water and black mark) stains from wood. It doesn't do much to remove natural wood color.


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## Woodenhorse (May 24, 2011)

HowardAcheson said:


> Oxalic acid is not the bleach that removes the natural color from wood. For that you want a two part A/B bleach. Many paint stores carry it or it can be bought on the internet.
> 
> Oxalic acid is the bleach used to remove mineral (water and black mark) stains from wood. It doesn't do much to remove natural wood color.


Mixed with denatured alcohol it does make an effective wood bleach but is milder than the A/B solutions. It all depends on how much change is required. Mixed with hot water and Sodium Hypophosphite it will remove stains. The Hydrogen Peroxide/Sodium Hydroxide bleaches are more aggressive and I would strongly urge some experimentation to determine which one works best.


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