I have had some interior doors stripped of paint, and I intend to stain
them. The doors were once the way out to the house porch, but the porch has
since been completely converted into a room. The doors have windows and
about 20-percent of the old rock-hard white putty that's still holding the
panes in place.

My plan was to chip out the remains of the old putty, and then have a
carpenter insert wooden pieces in place of the putty to hold in the glass
panes. The wood, would therefore, be stained the same as the rest of the
doors.

The problem is, the old putty remains are as hard as a rock, and trying to
chip it out is taking forever, with the ever-present worry of cracking the
glass panes.

I am now considering leaving everything as it is, and just applying fresh
putty over the existing stuff. What's my best course of action with respect
to getting a color match between the stained wood and the new putty? Is
there a putty that can be mixed to the same color before application, or is
there a putty that can be stained with the same stain I use on the doors,
with the same color results? What about gel stains?

Thanks very much in advance.