Matching Stain to Old Wood

[bpolvo]

I am trying to match 'old' wood (mahogany) that has been in the weather with new mahogany by staining the new to get the same tone as the old. Am I confusing everyone? What I have is an old wooden canoe that has mahogany doublewales, seats, thwarts and decks. This canoe is 99 years old. Some of the wooded pieces are still in good shape and what I want to do is just replace the rotted pieces with new wood but come close to matching the tone of the old wood by using stain to change the tone. Do any of you have any ideas? I have been mixing stains but I am not able to capture the tone.

Thanks, Bob

[JB]

If you don't mind the finish being a bit muddy you might try a paste type stain such as Wattyl colourwood. Also most of the decking oils are paste type finishes, having a high pigment content that actually provides most of the protection from sun and rain. These wouldn't be a bad choice for a canoe providing you are prepared to maintain them regularly.

If colour matching is more important to you than seeing the grain and natural colour of the timber clearly you might consider using one of the above type finishes on all the woodwork, old and new.

By the way, I wouldn't recommend Wattyl colourwood for outdoor use unless it's sealed with heavy duty clear finish.