<p>I’m currently at my parents house on vacation but also helping them think about eventually selling this place. One update they wanted to do involved changing the nearly-black, heavily carved stair rail (which didn’t fit the 1960’s character of the house) for something closer to the light color of the floors.<br>
Once the old woodwork was stripped it turned out to be old growth cedar ( like 200 growth rings across the 6" board. ). And when the old finish was sanded off its pretty red. We’re willing to go with replacement cedar (beautiful golden color) for the minor parts, but want to reuse the 6" wide handrail. Except it’s pink and the new stuff is golden. We can’t even begin to consider not reusing this ancient old board.
If you are a woodworker and know of stains or varnishes to tone down the red and bring out the yellow in old cedar, please give advice.
We tried a grayer stain but that moved it farther from gold…sanded back off.</p>
<p>You might want to find a cabinetmaker to come and check on it. They’re familiar with applying various stains to match colors or change them and using various techniques. A lot of cabinetmakers aren’t doing real well right now due to fewer people doing kitchen remodels right now so you might be able to convince one to come out and take a look.</p>
<p>This is the type of think best left to someone with experience working with different types of wood and stains before you try something yourself and potentially mess it up. It’s also something they need to see to determine the best recourse.</p>
<p>^agreed. Stains and whatnot can get messy, especially when you try to match it with something.</p>