# Shading and Toning



## canopainting (Feb 12, 2013)

Im attempting to learn toning or shading rather than poly shades or gel stain. I learned that dyes are made different from stains. I know there are many ways to do this. Basically I am practicing on some sample 2.5 X 4, 5.00 veneers i bought from H.D. I sealed them with shellac and put old based quick dry varnish on them. I have to darken the exterior side an front entrance door, it never gets direct sunlight. The door is a medium grade made of some type of conifer. Its varnished natural and ambered. WB poly with Graco HVPL. Can you give me some pointers?


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

If you have access to Sansin stains and topcoats in your area, look into them. The stains are very good and the clear coat product can be tinted. Plus, they are all waterbased. If you are going to put a lot of effort into coming up with a system, might as well do it using products that are more user and HO friendly and which can be used inside their homes with minimium issues.


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## canopainting (Feb 12, 2013)

I ended up light sanding the door with 180 and 220 ceiling it with three coats of clear shellac I mixed my trance tents with exterior water-based poly , got the color I wanted And then sprayed a clear coat over that took me 5 1/2 hours to take off the front door prep it stained it and put it back on I used a old Graco 4900 with an edge going


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## woodcoyote (Dec 30, 2012)

Must be a big door. 5 hours is a long time.

Shellac on an exterior door is frowned upon, because it'll end up cracking. On the inside side will probably be ok. Temperature extremes will make coatings flex and if they aren't flexible they crack. Hardness isn't the important factor for exterior (unlike interior).

With that being said....transtint and dyes are also frowned upon for exterior toning/shading/and staining as they generally aren't light fast and will fade out with even minimal exposure (10x worse with direct exposure). If you ever talk to Jeff he'll tell you to generally not do it (maker of transtint).

For the future:
Pick an exterior product. For example.. general finishes 450 exterior. Or man-o-war exterior sealer. Get some stain your using (not heavily dye based) and mix that in with your sealer. With your hvlp you can tone the door easily. Just mist it on and practice spraying expecially with your round pattern. 

Hope that helps and don't take the downsides I pointed out as a negative. Just a learning thing.


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## canopainting (Feb 12, 2013)

woodcoyote said:


> Must be a big door. 5 hours is a long time.
> 
> Shellac on an exterior door is frowned upon, because it'll end up cracking. On the inside side will probably be ok. Temperature extremes will make coatings flex and if they aren't flexible they crack. Hardness isn't the important factor for exterior (unlike interior).
> 
> ...



What if i used sealed with ext clear poly and shaded with powdered pigment mixed with ext poly.


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

canopainting said:


> What if i used sealed with ext clear poly and shaded with powdered pigment mixed with ext poly.


I wouldn't work too hard to make this more difficult than it already is. As _woodcoyote_ said, just mix a comparable stain into your clear to get the look you are after for the shading and toning. Or, unless you know for certain you are using compatible components, have your supplier do it for you so they are using pigments and clears which will work together.

I typically lay a light coat of stain down on the prepped surface and allow to dry and wipe off as per instructions. Then using my HVLP, I shade and tone over that with a tinted clear to achieve the desire coloration. Last stage is to apply several totally clear coats to get the desired final appearance and protection. For me it's easy to just remember -

A. full stain (to set a more even base color)
B. Tinted clear (built up coats as needed to achieve desired color)
C. Straight clear (for achieving final sheen and protection levels)


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