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Cabinets, Furniture, Woodworks/how to make this match my headboard

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Expert: - 5/23/2009


Question

the headboard and the
i have 2 post that i want to add to each side of a headboard i have the post are black came off another bedset but they are partical board it seems i want to knw how do i make them match the headboard which is a dark red mohagany maybe dark red cherrywood with leather in middle of headbord. first i was going to sand all down (the post)
then i decided maybe if i sand down just a little leave black then buy dark red mahogany paint or something and paint over then work with it then add some kind of gloss or poly. what do u think

Answer
Hi Frances,I think that would not make a match you will like...it will look like you painted it, and an opaque painted surface will never look like the rich Mahogany of the headboard. the only way to make a match is with a process called "toning" using colored lacquers, available in aerosols, but starting with bare MDF. The real problem is that if they are MDF, you can't strip them without risk of damaging them and swelling of the MDF. Trying to sand off all the finish will be really tough as well, and you will still be left with an undesirable base with which to finish.Toning techniques are a skilled finishing method, and not something that can be easily taught over the internet, as well....wish I had better news. You'd be farther ahead to have new MDF posts made that you could then have finished to make an approxiamate match....and even then it would only be close. There's no appreciable grain to MDF so it will always look like colored MDF, especially when put right next to real wood of that quality.wish I had a better answer, but this is a case where, "you can't make a silk purse from a Sow's ear"....-regards- Greg

Greg Scholl

Expertise

Questions on Woodworking, wood finishing and refinishing of all kinds, repairing furniture and wooden objects, Architectural details, Woodturning, carving, tool usage, product usage, some chemistry as it applies to woodworking and related interests,cabinet making and furniture construction/design, etc. I have experience with all manners of colorants, finishes, paints, stains, dyes, glazes, and coatings, wood species recognition and usage,tool recommendations, blade types and recommendation,techniques and methods for many Woodworking related issues, etc.

Experience

Fine furniture restorer and cabinet maker for over 30 years,serving high end Antique dealers, Interior designers, Collectors in the CT area. Consulting for area Painting/Decorating and Building contractors on non painting issues..(staining, wood prep.,clear finishing, floor restoration and architectural detail restoration and repair, etc.) Sold, built, serviced, setup Home, Industrial, and Commercial stationary woodworking tools for a major tool retailer in CT. for three years, sold hand and power tools , provided knowledge, parts replacement, service, and on site service, Trade show Demo, and training as well.

Publications
Published in Fine Woodworking Magazine (12/97), included on Fine Woodworkings first "Best of Fine Woodworking" CD-ROM (2002) ...("27 year compilation of expert know-how")

Education/Credentials
Art School at Silvermine Guild in Norwalk, CT., 9 year apprenticeship in a European run Cabinet and Restoration shop in CT., various classes on subjects having to do with the field. Seminars from major Tool manufacturers, Skil/Bosch, Delta, Powermatic, Ritter, Porter cable, Milwaukee, Dewalt/B&Decker, Performax.

Past/Present Clients
Many varied clients including work on Martha Stewarts' Westport, CT. show house, many fine Antique dealers and private collectors in and around Fairfield County and in Woodbury, CT. (the Antiques capital of CT.), Golden Age of Trucking Museum, Wilton Historical Society.

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