Stain the wood

Wood returned to life after stripping (and maybe bleached with lye) or any parts in new wood, should be stained to restore the original appearance of the cabinet.
It must be said that the coloring of wood should be performed only when absolutely necessary, ie when stripping, maybe a little energetic, has bleached wood furniture and clearing the furniture so relevant.



But it can also happen that the cabinet has been treated, in the past, with a paint etched so the stripping back the furniture to the natural color of the wood.
In addition, all the times that additional parts are applied in place of those, which are damaged, it is necessary to put a connection color for the new parts with the existing ones.
Before you decide how to color the surface of the cabinet, you should decide what finishing technique will be adopted to avoid problems of incompatibility between color and finish.

ABSOLUTE CLEANING

The parts to be colored must be clean and in the working space there can not be dust.
For this reason, you will not make a coloring treatment in a space where you have done work that produced dust, for the same reason you will not carry them out before the paint is completely dry.
Not respecting these rules you could be forced to repeat the whole operation.

Dyes for restoration

Aniline
These dyes are by so far the most used in the restoration.
They are sold in the form of powders or liquid ready to use as it should be diluted until it reaches the desired shade.
They are produced in a wide range of colors that, when properly combined, give rise to intermediate shades.
Depending on the solvent employing stand anilines alcohol and water (but there are also nitro and oil).
The differences in use are different.
The aniline to water requires more steps on the wooden to stain it properly.

Left: aniline is dissolved in warm water, stirring long.
Right: the application of aniline is carried out using a brush with regular and parallel wipes.
You will find the right color doing some tests.

It follows that wood gets very wet and this may cause small deformations and in any case it is necessary to wait for everything to dry perfectly before proceeding with painting.

With regard to the dilution of the dye there are no special rules, it is better to perform various tests on a piece of wood similar to that of the cabinet to be treated up to achieve the desired result.
It is good to prepare the entire amount which is considered necessary so that its color is well uniform.
The aniline alcohol very quickly give the color to the wood, dries very quickly, but this fact causes a major difficulty in the application as you have to be careful not to brush up on a colored part already more than other to have no differences in tone .
It is also possible to dissolve the aniline to shellac in alcohol: this allows to fix the color on the wood in a more stable way.

Colored earths
These are natural powders available in different colors (sienna, umber, red earth, yellow ocher, carbon black, etc..).
They should be dissolved in hot water and then the mixture should be filtered to remove the impurities.
Apply with a sponge.
The colored earths are also used to color the wax (hot), shellac and glue.

Also the vinyl glue that is used in repairs can be effectively colored in the color desired by mixing it with a little water and aniline.

Paint a piece of stripped furniture

To paint a piece of furniture that has been stripped you should use an aniline.
Carefully clean the wood to be etched or you risk having a non-uniform absorption of the dye.
Then apply the stain with a brush.
Remember that the veneers are more sensitive to the effect of the different dye pigments.
In these cases you work with more diluted dyes.

THE CLASSIC "WALNUT ETCH"

The experts prefer to use this dye, which consists of a substance in crystals that dissolves in water (1 pound per 1 liter of water) and which gives the wood a very beautiful walnut color, of variable intensity according to the dilution.
The walnut stain is buffered, while the brush is reserved for minor adjustments.
Adding to the walnut stain a suitable amount of red aniline you obtain the so-called "mahogany stain."

Coloring added parts

After sanding accurately the area to be treated, prepare a solution of colored earths and hot water.
The right shade is to be found by making successive dilutions and experiments on a piece of wood similar to the one to be treated, in this way you will be able to make new wood similar to that of the cabinet to be restored.
In general, it is not convenient to create a final color.
It is best to achieve the desired shade of wood with two successive applications.
With the first you make a yellowish or reddish background color, with the second you reach the desired color.

a) To etch a stripped piece of furniture prepare a mixture of colored earth and warm water.
b) Filter the solution and try on a piece of scrap wood the reached hue.
c) You can first apply a light-colored background and then, with a sponge, the final etch.

It is a longer but more reliable process.
During the first phase of the preparation, apply the preparation with a sponge so as to create the background on which it will be applied to the final coloring.
During the application, follow the grain of the wood and try to avoid overlaps, which create areas of darker color.
If this happen, however, remove the dye in excess with a clean, dry cloth.
In case you need to treat wood that has very dark alternating grain areas of relatively clear and you want to soften the contrast, you can apply the stain with a brush only on clear parts.
At this point you can switch to the second phase of the staining on the wood by applying a dye that make the new wood to appear as much as possible identical to that of the cabinet.

Lighten the wood

If the wood has to be cleared in a few points before staining, you can apply on the surface some diluted bleach.
This compound does not substantially affect the color of the wood.

Left: The bleach buffered on dark areas contributes to decolor it without staining the wood.
Right: The area treated with bleach can be nuanced and connected to the rest of the surface with a coat of hydrogen peroxide.

After the treatment, apply some concentrated hydrogen peroxide (120 volumes) so as to more gradually discolor the wood of the cabinet.
After the treatment, wash the wood with water and let it dry completely.