Matching a Stain Color a Customer Found Online

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:

"Matching a Stain Color a Customer Found Online"

Summary:

Tim acknowledges that matching a stain color a customer found in a magazine or on social media is a tricky one. The easiest starting point is identifying the wood species the customer is actually looking at in the inspiration photo. He explains a key reality: if you have a two-and-a-quarter-inch red oak floor, you're not going to be able to make it look like a five-inch white oak floor, because the color won't be the same. However, the team can get close to the tones. His preferred method is to show stain colors during the sanding process, finding a good open area of the floor and testing colors there to get as close as possible to the target. Throughout, he keeps clients grounded in the realistic expectation that sometimes a look found on the internet simply cannot be matched unless they purchase that specific species of wood.

Answer:

That's kind of a tricky one. Sometimes the easiest way to show people the colors they're finding on Pinterest or the internet is to first identify the wood species and what they're actually looking at in that photo. Because realistically, if you have a two-and-a-quarter red oak floor, you're not going to be able to make it look like a five-inch white oak floor. The color's just not going to be the same. But we can get close to the tones. So what I suggest, and when I like to show stain colors, is during the sanding process. We get a good open area of the floor and start showing them some colors right there, and get as close as we can to that picture. But I also keep it in their mind, realistically, that sometimes you can't match exactly what you find on the internet unless you buy that same species of wood.