Darkening light Jarrah

[gra9782]

Hi All,

Making some dining furniture from Jarrah and have some lighter boards I would like to darken up. Has anyone had experience darkening light Jarrah. I presume I would need to stain or tint the lacquer when finishing the pieces. Any info would be helpful on products that have worked, tints etc. I presume black, green and red dyes would do the trick. Thanks in advance for any pointers.:)

gra9782

[Billy302]

Yes you need to stain it if you want it darker.
However when you stain you will also darken the darker areas so you have to apply the stain unevenly, then sand it back to the colour you want when the stain is still wet.
Stains don't penetrate deeply into dry jarrah.
Personally I like the variation in colour and to me it adds character to the piece.
Nature knows best and I have real jarrah floors in my home and the colour variation is fabulous and cannot be mimicked or copied.
Me! I would just finish it to the best of my ability and appreciate it for what it is.

[HazzaB]

Hey Gra,

I'm with Billy here, and ask the question Why ?? What you got is what you get, you might get some darker boards somewhere else and find another project for the lighter ones

HazzaB

[gra9782]

Hey Gra,

I'm with Billy here, and ask the question Why ?? What you got is what you get, you might get some darker boards somewhere else and find another project for the lighter ones

HazzaB

Hi HazzaB,

Well I'm making 8 chairs and when I picked the timber it looked about the same colour on the surface until I thicknessed the boards. Most are the same colour after thicknessing just 4 legs are of a lighter colour, that's the only reason I would like to darken them.:)

[rod1949]

:worthless:

I wouldn't worry about it as you will find when finished it all blends in. In this link http://www.woodworkforums.com/f187/jarrah-dining-table-wip-128413/ is what I've recently made from Jarrah with its many shades from light pink to dark red. I didn't make the chairs, I brought them. As I said it all blends in.