So, I have cobbled together exactly the HG wall unit I've been needing and wanting, out of parts that I've had for years, parts from some friends' shop, and boxes that my daughter scored recently online.
The last one was the wild card color-wise. It was hard to tell from the photos and I'd hoped they would be closer in color to my beautiful, dark, rich teak pieces that I already had. But nope, they were even lighter than anticipated. Like, a lot.
They came from a sunny room in southern California. Is there anything I can safely do to darken the wood? I've done plenty of refinishing and staining and whatnot, but this makes me nervous due to the need to match the new color to that old teak.
I've done a little bit of work with water soluble aniline dyes but not oil-soluble aniline dyes--are they worth looking into? Would they be better than conventional stains (Minwax or gel stains or ...?)
I wish I had a piece of scrap teak that was this same yellowy color (looks like oak, almost) to test colors on, but I don't.
Any suggestions?
PS, this is a very accurate photo, unfortunately, at least as far as contrast goes. Colorwise it's a little on the red side but not a lot.
Vive La Difference!
It's not impossible, but I wouldn't mess with trying to tone teak. And, yes, it comes naturally in different shades.
It may seem unacceptable now, but I would give it time. As Mark said, your set grew organically and it's okay that it looks that way. Besides, one never knows. If you really can't stand it, a better match may be awaiting just down the road.
Well, one of them is not even
on the premises because I decided to work on it off-site where i have more room and there's better air circulation. So I don't have a full view shot of the whole thing.
My daughter got another lot of HG online for cheap--she thinks they are walnut but I think they might be darker teak. The photos were bad so it's hard to tell. I'm hoping they'll work with my set and that she'll be willing to wheel and deal some more. She would rather have walnut for her purposes.
Aunt Mark,
Thank you for your vote on the taste front. I have given a lot of thought to just letting myself get used to it but it's two lower boxes and one upper, and the upper is on an end, not in the middle, so it's all out of whack.
What makes teak get darker or lighter anyway? I've heard it bleaches in the sun but will darken if oiled a lot and not exposed to sun. Or are some varieties just darker to begin with? Some of it certainly starts out more orange (like the later 80s teak).
Any sort of oil finish you...
Any sort of oil finish you put on it is going to influence the color, especially exterior teak oil, which has darkening UV absorvers, so I don't mind consciously influencing the color myself.
You can add artist's oil paint to oil finishes to custom tint them. Mix it light, and apply as per the usual. The nice part is that you can build up to the color you want, so it is less scary than only having one shot at it.
You can also disappear ghosting on teak this way.
I have a coffee table that was very UV damaged, except for a big rectangle in the middle. Really detracted from the design. Used this technique on it, and now you can't tell.
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