Refinishing Maple to Look Like Cherry

[Steve Soldo]

Have a maple dresser I built about 10 years ago. Was new to finishing at the time---just brushed water based poly on it. Looks okay but now I want to move it to a room with cherry furniture. Wife wants me to stain it to look like cherry.

What is the best way to do this? I don't mind if it is a lot of work, I just want it to look right. Should I just sand off the polyurethane, put on some cherry stain, then some sort of topcoat? Do I have to use gel stain? What will produce the best appearance? Thank you in advance.

[jteneyck]

If you have spray equipment and know how to use toners you could just clean the existing surface, lightly scuff sand it with 325 or 400 grit, and spray it with a shellac toner to get your cherry color. Then topcoat it with your choice of clear coat. Transtint dye in SealCoat shellac works great. If you know how to spray.

If you don't, now is not the time to learn. If that's the case, I think you have at least two choices. You could strip it with chemical stripper and then stain and topcoat in the usual manner. That approach is likely to guarantee success. Or you could try cleaning and scuff sanding the existing finish and applying a gel stain to get the color you want and then your clear coats. I've never actually done the later so I can't say with any direct knowledge how well that approach will work.

If you decide to strip it you will probably want to begin the refinishing by applying a coat of SealCoat shellac cut 50% with DNA to seal the surface and minimize blotching, which maple really likes to do. You should then consider dying it before applying the stain. That will give you a base color and make the staining step easier. For stain, I recommend you consider using SW's BAC Wiping Stain. It's unlike any stain you have probably used; great color and easy to apply and wipe off. You MUST spray the first coat over BAC Wiping Stain. If you don't have spray equipment you can just use rattle can shellac. Then you can apply your finish coats over that any way you like.

Hope that helps you in considering your options. There might be more; those are the ones I could think of.

John

[rschissler]

Although John's spraying toner or tinted shellac sounds good, I would strip and sand it completely and spray Transtint dye to the cherry color you want. Of course, both of those ideas will take some practice and experience before trying it on the piece.

While I think gel stain with a shellac washcoat first, works great on cherry, I've never had good luck with gel stain on maple. It just doesn't absorb like cherry, so I could never get the color very dark. That's why I think spraying maple is best.

[Doug_H]

Steve,

If it were my project and the finish were sound, I would not strip it. John gave you a lot of good advice. I do not agree, however, that you have to apply toner by spraying. I have toned with a brush or even rag applicator many times.

Whether you strip it or not, you have to worry about residue from silicone applied over the years in the form of dusting aids, furniture polishes, etc. I'd wipe it down well with mineral spirit and then scuff sand uniformly with fine sandpaper as John suggested.

At this point I would apply a coat of dewaxed shellac (Sealcoat or Bullseye shellac in the aerosol can) Now you have a substrate that you can tone.

Now you can tone with Polyshades or Polycrylic. I would use the Polyshades diluted with clear varnish or Polycrylic tinted with Transtint or artist's acrylic paints. Be conservative. Don't try to go too dark with one coat because it will be hard to get a uniform tone. (This is probably what John was thinking about when he recommended spray application.)

I suppose you could use gel stain but like John I have never tried it for toning. Again, try it on scrap first. You would have to be careful not to leave too much on the wood or it might obscure the grain.

All the best

Doug

[Steve Soldo]

Yes I spray all the time. When you say spray "Transtint dye" do you mean put a few drops in Sealcoat and spray that?

[Doug_H]

Steve,

Yes. After you wipe the piece and scuff sand it you can tint dewaxed shellac with a few drops of Transtint and then spray it to tone. The "strength" of the tinted mixture is up to you. Normally I think a slight tint and multiple coats gives me more control and a more even job. I think that's what Paul is saying as well. Try it on scrap first.

I did not include this in my first response because brushing multiple coats of tinted shellac can be tricky and requires excellent brush technique. Sprayed tinted shellac is easier if you are good at spraying. Runs, etc with tinted shellac can still cause an unsightly result so you do need that "artistic" ability.

Doug

[Paul K. Murphy]

Yes. That's what I'm saying.

[JR1]

I agree with the above and with John. Realize that if you buy shellac and mix your own the transtint may well be unnecessary. I like Thai seed for this but you may want something else. Also you can use more than one color of transtint to get what you want. The advise to apply a light coat and sneak up on the color is good. However one advantage of a tone coat is that you can lighten it by wiping with alcohol and scraping lightly with a plastic putty knife or scraper. It's far better to use a couple 1# cut coats than try to hit it just right with a single heavy coat. The advice to test on scrap is right on and is an essential step. BTW a tone coat or shellac works just fine when wiped on.

BTW keep good notes so if you want to duplicate the finish or repair it you can do so easily.

[Steve Soldo]

Thank you everyone for the advice

[Paul K. Murphy]

John and Doug have given good answers. If the finish is sound you could tone it. I would also consider the possibility of glazing it, and I believe that's where I'd end up going.
Glazing and toning both require some skill, knowledge of materials, and the intangible quality of artistry. It takes a while to develop. To make a first attempt on a large cabinet is your choice.
The good part is that the desired color is best achieved incrementally. You won't be "Disney Brushing" the cabinet with a magic elixir that makes it look exactly like it's supposed to all at once. This allows you to minutely adjust your mix, your strategy, your application, etc. as required. The bad news is, knowing how to do that is a skill, like playing a musical instrument is a skill.
Question: "Can I make beautiful music with this guitar?"
Answer: "I don't know. Carlos Santana can."