Which color wood stain would you use on pine to match "golden oak"?

July 5, 2021 7:14 AM

Please help me match this "golden oak" trim with a roughly appropriate wood stain for cheap pine.

Here is the bed in my kids room (Acme farah bunk). The manufacturer calls the wood trim part "golden oak." I have a few cheap unfinished pine things (drawer handles, a narrow tall dresser, a mast of dowels) that I'd like to stain to roughly match the wood trim on the bunk. The Minwax "oak" looks a little light and "gunstock" looks a little dark and unpredictable. What stain color would you go with to try and approximately match the bed trim? I'm not going to do testers and all that - this isn't Houzz, it's a little kid room - but I figure someone with more experience than me can eyeball it better. I didn't plan on using any sort of prep solution - just sanding and staining - but if you tell me to, I might.

Thanks mefites.

posted by letahl to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (10 answers total)

I can't tell you what to use for sure, but I can say with confidence that Minwax Golden Oak on pine will be substantially too light and too yellow. Looking at the colors page on the Minwax site, I'd probably go for Red Oak. The trim on the bed seems to have enough red tones that I'd want to try to match them, even if the overall dark/lightness wasn't 100% on.
posted by restless_nomad at 7:33 AM on July 5, 2021 [2 favorites]

Would you say your linked picture shows the wood colour accurately? Because on my screen that colour is way more mahogany (red undertones) than any sort of golden oak (yellow brown understones)
posted by stillnocturnal at 7:33 AM on July 5, 2021 [3 favorites]

If you just want to go for it with a single color, I'd look at either "Red Oak" or "Red Chestnut", with the latter being the closest approximation to my eye. Remember that the grain on turned wood objects like dowels and drawer handles may absorb stain differently than flat grain surfaces like on the dresser, so start by applying a light but even coat of stain and then wiping it off with a rag after a few minutes. You can always apply more stain and leave it on to produce a darker color.

More generally, I've found that if you're willing to do some tests on wood scraps, you can match pretty much any existing wood tone with some mix of a yellow stain like Puritan Pine, a red stain like Red Chestnut, and a dark stain like Dark Walnut or even Ebony.
posted by ReferenceDesk at 7:35 AM on July 5, 2021 [2 favorites]

My hardware store (at least) sells very small containers of stain from Minwax. When I have to match something, I buy all the possibilities and test on scrap. If nothing is close enough, then I try mixing stains in a coffee can to see if I can get close.
You could even do tests on the unexposed side of the wood you are going to use, but be careful not to get it on exposed faces.
posted by rudd135 at 7:44 AM on July 5, 2021 [3 favorites]

Addendum - in real life, I am an Architect. We *never* select colors off the colors shown on the monitor on manuf's websites. This is for new construction where there is nothing to match. Colors on monitors can vary significantly from real life. I might be seeing a different color than one of the folks above.
In almost all cases, we require a chip on the actual material to be used, but will occasionally use the printed color charts mailed to us for less critical items.
posted by rudd135 at 7:49 AM on July 5, 2021 [1 favorite]

What I would do is remove a piece of the stained bed and take it in to the local paint store (not a big box store, probably not even Ace Hardware unless there was really no other choice) along with a piece of the pine you're planning to use and ask the person there. I've found folks like that to be astonishingly knowledgeable sources of excellent advice. YMMV of course.
posted by DrGail at 7:58 AM on July 5, 2021 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: RE: Would you say your linked picture shows the wood colour accurately? Because on my screen that colour is way more mahogany (red undertones) than any sort of golden oak (yellow brown understones)

Yes. That's why I chose that pic although we actually have the twin over twin version - it is totally more reddish than any oak I've seen. In fact, it's just like the wood on the real boat we had growing up lol.
posted by letahl at 9:17 AM on July 5, 2021

My monitor is color calibrated, but the picture may not be. Assuming it's in vaguely accurate sRGB, I can say that I have hit pretty close to that colour on cheap pine by applying a semi-transparent stain in the "Teak" color from Sikkens.

For Minwax's color range my suggestions would be either "Red Chestnut" or "Sedona".
posted by automatronic at 10:26 AM on July 5, 2021

While you're talking to the paint and stain pros, ask them about using a wood conditioner on the dresser. You could get away without it on the dowels and handles, but think you'll be really unhappy with the blotchiness of the pine dresser if you skip that step.
posted by kate4914 at 10:48 AM on July 5, 2021 [2 favorites]

Seconding both the red chestnut as well as using a wood conditioner. Please don't skip the conditioner. On older hardwoods you'd be okay but on pine it'll be very blotchy.
posted by mezzanayne at 12:07 AM on July 6, 2021 [1 favorite]