with hundreds of Pine species, all will give a different final tone to the colour in one way or another. This can be an issue with old floors where the majority of the boards are original but some have been replaced over the years. The replaced boards will react differently with the applied finish and will probably give a different look to the original boards when coloured, even if they are the same species. The difference in colour can usually be made less obvious but may take some experimentation and testing to get it right. What’s the solution? Red is a strong colour to have to bring down in tone and you can often end up with a more pink or orange appearance if you are not careful. And if can be difficult to know what the right solution is for this, it could just be a case of test areas to see what the results are. For some people the walnut looks like mahogany and the mahogany like a cherry. The variations from brand to brand are endless, the only way to tell for sure what the result will be is to try it on your wood. The wood type, age and condition will all impact on the result and this is why we so strongly recommend test areas here at Wood Finishes Direct. Wood varnish helps to seal and protect a range of wooden surfaces, and you can buy it in a choice of colours. You can use interior varnish to coat and seal internal doors, as well as wooden furniture such as dining tables, wardrobes, and bedside tables. You may also wish to apply it to your skirting boards to give them improved protection and an attractive shine. There are clear versions, as well as products that come in natural wood shades like oak and pine.

So what is the best approach when looking to colour wood with a coloured or pigmented wood finishing product? In short, trust your eyes and go with the colour that looks right rather than by the name of a colour. Always keep in mind that the colour of the product on your floor or furniture will likely differ to the example colour swatch on the tin. Another thing to take into account is that when viewing wood finishing and indeed paint colours online, everyone’s monitor is set to a different contrast and colour setting similar to when you see the same TV programme on many TV’s when you walk into a TV shop. Thank you for getting in touch with your enquiry. There are not many coloured varnishes on the market, because a better result is nearly always achieved by using a stain to give colour and then a clear varnish to seal and protect. There are a few exceptions to this, white for example, because a clear product over white will nearly always yellow. You will not get an exact match there are too many variables with woods for that however if you take a look at the colour swatches, rather than the names of those colours, you could get close. The reason I advice this is often a ‘Light Oak’, for example in one range can look very different in appearance to the ‘Light Oak’ in another range. Colour matching one wood type to another in a room is question we get asked about quite a lot. You could start by looking at a tinted oil to apply to your doors, this adds colour and protection to the wood and can bring it closer to the floor colour.With so many factors to take into account when choosing a colour for a wood finishing project, our advice is to always do a test area first on the actual wood to be stained and finished. If you find that the colour is either too light or too dark on the test patch, there are probably things that can be done to fine-tune the final colour. For example, a water-based stain can be diluted with water to lighten the shade. This is by far better than completing a major project to then be faced with the prospect of having to sand it all off and start again. Need more help with Oak? Need help with your oak project?

We love to see before, during and after photos of any wood finishing project. If you would like to share your project pictures with us and our followers, you can either send us some photos or share on our We do have a really good product from Sikkens that you could take a look at Sikkens Cetol TSI Satin Plus which can be applied over existing finishes if a test area proves positive and has 5 colour options in the range or alternatively the Ronseal Diamond Hard Interior Coloured Varnish Satin which has slight more colour options with 12 available. So if you take a look at the Fiddes Hard Wax Oil Tints or Blanchon Hard Wax Oil Tints there may be a colour with in this range that could be close. You are also able to intermix with in the same range to create a new colour, very, very thorough stiorring is required and the sample tins are the best way to experiment with this option.

Apply thin layers of wax