How to match external timber door stain?

Dogman

Hi, wondering if you could help. My bifold doors were weathered. I bit off more than I could chew. I went into Bunnings and got this vanish stain (Cabot’s exterior varnish stain maple ) thinking it would be the same. It really wasn’t lol. 

as you can see from the side by side it’s a lot darker and shiny. 

would a polyurethane Matt product be closer to the yellow colour? Or is that a stain? 

im currently trying to sand it all off and start again. The open door on the right is the target colour. 

any help would be greatly appreciated. Thankyou. 

Ive seen some great advice from yourselves. Wondering if you have any for me  @Poppop, @r23on, @woodenwookie thanks again! 

JacobZ

Hi @Dogman,

A warm welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community and thank you for your question.

Unfortunately, matching timber stains with existing ones is incredibly difficult as the colour that is produced is relative to the species of timber and the stage of weathering it is in.

The only way to guarantee a match in terms of colour is to bring all the timber back to bear and coat it all with the same product, in the same quantity, at the same time.

I don't think the door on the right has had a stain applied. I can't guarantee it will look the same, but I think it is a clear, satin or semi-gloss varnish like this Bondall 1L Satin Monocel Gold Marine Clear Timber Varnish.

If you weren't willing to bring everything back to bare timber and start again, I think this would be worth a shot. You could start with a small patch that is close to the right door for comparison purposes so you can easily remove it if required.

Let me know what you think.

Jacob