How Tim Approaches Stain Matching on Repairs

Hey folks! This is Tim from A Team Hardwoods LLC.

Welcome to another Q&A session where I answer questions from you all on the internet.

Today's question is:

"How Tim Approaches Stain Matching on Repairs"

Summary:

Tim describes stain matching as something that comes with many years of experience working with stains, calling it kind of an art. He explains that achieving the right hue can require mixing as many as four different stain colors together. A key challenge is that a perfect match is often impossible, particularly on older floors: floors that are around ten years old amber over time, meaning a perfect match simply cannot be achieved. However, Tim emphasizes that the result can get very close, so close that if someone doesn't know a repair is there, they may never notice it. His process is entirely hands-on, involving mixing colors, using the right stains, and working to track down which stains may have originally been used on that floor, along with securing access to those specific stains to get the closest possible match.

Answer:

Stain matching just comes with many years of experience with stains. It's kind of an art, honestly. You can make some colors out of four different stain colors just to get the right hues. A lot of times it's a little hard to get a perfect match, because some floors, if they're ten years old, they amber over time, and you're never going to get a perfect match on those. But you can get it real close, and sometimes if you don't know it's there, you may never know it's there. It's all hands-on mixing colors, using the right stains, and trying to track down what stains may have been used on that floor originally, and then having access to those stains. So between the years of experience, the hands-on mixing of colors to get the hues right, and tracking down the original products that were used, that's how I get a repair to blend in as close as possible to the rest of the floor.