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I did laminate in my mancave and Im going to do the steps and landing in hardwood. How do I go about matching the wood? Ive heard I can take a piece of floor and a piece of unfinished wood to Lowes and they can match it for me. Is that true or is there a better place? I have a Sherman Williams close.
Sherwin williams is the best. I did the same thing when I built my house and needed to match the stair case stain to the hardwood.
thanks Larry
Lowes matches paint really well (I used to work there), but for stain I recommend SW as well.
Go to Sherwin Willams.
thanks guys. its my work week right now. hopefully gonna get them done next week. im about half way done and taking my time. i think they are turning out good.
I just had SW do mine and it turned out perfect. I gave them a piece of my prefinished hardwood which is white oak and they matched the stain so that I could finish the wood for my stairs which is red oak. You cannot tell a difference in the color when they are sitting side by side.
Take a finished piece of wood and a raw board to SW. Be sure you tell them you want a flood coat match. This way it can be applied heavy and wiped off. Dont let them dry rag the matched stain, because you will have to apply it the same way and you will have blotchy areas. Sometimes they will take a semi-wet rag on their finger and try to rub the stain in. Dont let them do this. Different woods take the stain differently so have the same type of wood. Example: pine will take stain very fast compared to oak.
Then use polyurethane (min wax) reduced for the first sealer, then 2 coats full coats not reduced using 220 sand paper between coats. You will need an exhaust system for this, and be sure to use a charcoal respirator that fits your face properly. The fumes will be very offensive, and linger on for a couple of hours after the materials have dried
Also be sure when you walk on the dried stain to be sure you have paper booties on. This is no time to have dirty footprints on the new stain. It would be advisable to have a contractor do this and to have a clear lacquer applied, lacquer would be more durable not to mention the time savings. They could have the finish coats applied in one day compared to 3 days of poly. And they should also have the proper exhaust system. Also it will be much easier to stain and finish the wood BEFORE it is installed and would be cheaper for a contractor to complete