DIYbanter - View Single Post - Pre-stained wood

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wrote:
On Wed, 18 Feb 2009 09:40:45 -0500, "Edwin Pawlowski" wrote:

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Is it possible to get pre-stained wood ??

I have two room dividers, each about 4 foot long and 3' foot high that
would
look better with a 6" top. Rather than trying to stain my own and hope
to
get the right finish, it would be easier to get pre-stained. Anyone
know
where to get it ??

I would really be nice to match all the stair rails, bannisters and
similar
wood trim in the house using the same stained woods... Any thoughts here
??

Thanks in advance for your suggestions !!

Peter
I've never seen such a thing and doubt it exists. There are hundreds of
stains available so matching can be a problem if you don't know what is on
the wood now. You'd have to have the stain for touchup anyway since it is
only a surface treatment, the raw wood will show where it is cut.

Thanks..... what options are available ?? Here's what I have

House stairway with a 8' stair bannister, a 3' stair rail with spindles, leading to
a hallway with two 4' dividers that I'd like to top off with a 6" top, trimmed with
moulding and finished with casing or crown where the top meets the dividers.

So we're looking at refinishing a

8' Bannister rail (two and one half inch)
3' of Stair rail top moulding
2 - 4' x 6" pieces for topping the dividers
assorted casing or crown moulding for the divider tops.

Not a large amount of surface.

The bannister can be stripped. Lumber for the divider top can be either pine or
hardwood (not purchased yet). The finish casing/crown would be pine. The stair rail is
already finished and would be a pain to disassemble and strip.

So different woods, some finished some plain.... I seriously doubt that
I am capable of obtaining like finishes using stain.

Are there paints, or finishes, or other methods that would give a stained 'woodwork'
appearance without looking like someone went wild with a brush. Would 'spray
work better than 'brush' ???

I'm not interested in bringing out 'grain' or wood beauty or pine 'knots' but want
to achieve a 'uniform earth tone' on the wood without making it obvious that it's
painted.

Am I overlooking something very obvious ??

Thx....

Peter

Using different woods but the same stain is likely to give you wildly
different results. Pine would soak up a lot more stain and be darker,
probably, than harder woods (like maple, oak, etc.) Best would be to
identify the wood that is most important and take a sample to a good
wood shop or paint shop. The only hope, IMO, of matching your already
finished wood is to have an expert mix and test a stain on a similar
wood. Good paint stores might do so.

The box stores that sell kitchen cabinets sell moldings that go with the
cabinets. You might find a close match that way, buy some moldings and
the stain that goes with them.

From your questions, you don't sound experienced in painting or wood
finishing. If you want the same color and don't care about the wood, a
paint with a glaze over it might satisfy. Glazes can be applied to
closely resemble wood grain, but it takes practice and some
understanding of color. Good luck.