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Woodworking Bathrooms Paint

White Oak Stain Wash Difference

last month

We just got our white oak bathroom cabinets stained (or paint washed). We loved the sample provided and approved.
I've included before and after.

However, you can see some of the cabinet doors are significantly lighter than the cabinet box after treatment.
Is this normal to have this much of a difference?

I'll show to our contractor but want to hear from
persons who are in the know.
Thoughts/suggestions?

Featured Answer

lisaam

last month

Should the person doing the work not be expected to notice and attempt to improve the situation? Would an extra coat of stain on the light sections help? All wood furniture is made from individual trees but most cabinetry does not show this much variation.

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Comments (13)

millworkman
last month
Not all pieces of wood take a finish the same. Different cuts, veneer, end grains, all all can take finishes quite differently.
PRO
Minardi
last month
last modified: last month
Wood comes from trees. Many trees in the forest. Each branch of each tree can have wood that looks different than another. The hallmark of something made with real natural materials is variability, not plastic sameness.
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vinmarks
last month
The difference was there before the treatment so why would it be any different after the treatment?
V. Bee
Original Author
last month
I realize there is natural variation within wood and appreciate that. I'm not looking for "plastic sameness".

However, the variation looks stark.

All photos/examples of white oak cabinets I've seen have slight variation in tones, not one this extreme.

The difference before the treatment was slight.
PRO
Zumi
last month
last modified: last month
The ones you have seen are likely rift sawn vs plain sawn. You cannot make up for different sawing characteristics with stain.
bry911
last month
The finisher just isn’t very talented.

This isn’t a problem with wood or cut or anything else. Yes, you can have variation in wood finishes, but you don’t just leave distinct color variation between doors and frames.
V. Bee
Original Author
last month
Here's another cabinet with same issue of doors being much lighter than frame after treatment-
Karenseb
last month
I think your cabinets are beautiful, but the result is probably due to the original color/variety of the wood.

I'd go to a cabinet maker and ask if he can provide new doors finished to match the rest of the cabinetry. Maybe not, but might be worth a try.
V. Bee thanked Karenseb
Debbie Downer
last month
Agree that a skilled finisher should be able to modify colors/tones to a certain extent .... while still leaving plenty of variation as you would expect with natural wood. Other instances where this might be done incl. tweaking color of new floor boards to blend into old 100 yr old wood floor.
V. Bee thanked Debbie Downer
jhuston425
11 days ago
Can I ask what stain you used?
Niki Jankow
10 days ago
Love the stain color. What did you use?
V. Bee
Original Author
45 minutes ago
The stain guy did a custom paint wash and it looks great, but it took a few applications to get right tone as you can see from problems after first wash only (prior comments).
However, I gave him a guide I found from @roserock918 instagram account.
I'll post the guide below:

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