Expert: Greg Scholl - 1/2/2009

Question
I am in dire need some help. I had an oak cabinet made for our bathroom, for my wife for Christmas. The cabinet is a beautiful floor to ceiling corner unit. The maker was at our house twice, before he actually started the unit. Both my wife and I told him that we would finish the unit after it was installed. He advised that he would rather finish the piece in his shop b4 installing, so we gave him the stain, (Cabot red mahogony) My problem: the stain does not come close to the the color of the oak floor, vanity, and tub surround. My wife, when refinishing the other pieces, stained them extra dark (red). Now the outer layer on the new cabinet, which is now a built in, has conversion varnish on it, and I am told that it can not be removed.... Is there any help that you can give me??? My wife actually cries when she looks at it. If it were just a Poly, I'm sure I wouldn't be this upset. the piece cost $1000... If the CV can't be removed, can I somehow tint a poly and put on top of the CV???   Thank you so much   Jay kangas Ironwood, MI

Answer
Hi Jay, my question is why didn't the cabinet maker match the rest of the woodwork?? He has the ability to tone (spray color)the cabinet as well when spraying, so I don't understand why there wasn't coordination....you can't use poly on the conversion Varnish. It can be removed, but it is a huge job...I'm also quite concerned that you applied the stain "extra dark" on the surrounding Oak, as these stains shouldn't be over applied to get to a darker color. Oak is a hard wood, and the way to make it dark is with a Dye stain and not a pigmented oil stain. By applying it too heavily, you risk adhesion problems with the clear coat. Hopefully you have used an Exterior Poly, or one that's designed for high moisture areas.Regular interior Poly will not stand up. I'm not sure how to advise you here. He could possibly tone the CV darker with a dye toner in another coat or two of the CV, but he is also limited as to how thick a film he can end up with. He'll also have to remove the cabinet, and take it back to the shop to do it. Also, his finish, even if he matches the color perfectly, will not look like yours...they're two different animals, and will look different on the same wood, no matter what. This is a perfect example of why coordination is paramount when doing this type of work.....you'll have to work it out together.....post back if need be- regards- Greg