| After some experimentation, I mixed a stain color that matched Julie’s requirements, but only on the “old” wood. I masked-off all of the “new” wood, and proceeded to stain. This really brought out the bits of paint that couldn’t be removed…
So, I spent about 25 hours with a #2 artist’s round brush and acrylic paint carefully “retouching” the spots out throughout the room. |
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| Here you see the new wood masked off with blue Painter’s tape. The old wood has been stained and 2 coats of varnish have been applied. This protects the old wood from “cross-contamination” from the stain used on the new wood.
By experimenting with a piece of new wood (you’ll see the winner piece in both pictures), I formulated a stain color that approximated the base color of the wood, then used a custom gel stain on top of that to knock down the contrast and bring the colors all together. |
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| This is right after the blue tape has been removed. Again, you’ll see the test panel resting on top of the wainscoting. |
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| This is the part that caused the most concern; one doorway is entirely intact original wood and the other is entirely new. A mismatch between these two large, room-dominating features could really unravel the entire project. | |
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| Happily it all came together, and Jeff and Julie were thrilled with their beautiful “new” dining room! Julie already wants to paint the walls a subtle olive green, and plans are being made to restore the living room. | |
