How and Why to Make a Wood Toner

Easy
Just like a toner you would get over your highlights in the salon, a wood toner is a translucent coat that lightly deposits color over the surface. It can be used to neutralize unwanted tones (like brassy highlights), even out blotchy color, or darken an existing finish.
Ever have a staining project not turn out how you imagined? Sometimes, even after using a pre-stain conditioner, you are left with a splotchy mess. Often the solution is to use a wood toner. Best. Decision. Ever.


I started with a sample board. If your newly stained wood looks like this, you're having a bad day, but you're not alone. Certain woods are infamously hard to stain, like maple.
Allow the uneven stain to dry completely. For oil-based stains, that can take up to a couple days in humid areas. During that time, you can mix up your wood toner. Wood toners are used in commercial applications all the time. A majority of store bought furniture has a couple coats of toner, to even out the finish.
If you research wood toners, you will probably end up on a professional wood worker forum, and they will be throwing around terms like "pre-cat", "HVLP" and "TransTint". Its not that complicated, and despite what you might read, it doesn't have to be sprayed. Toner can be applied with a high quality brush. A wood toner is simply pigment, mixed into a "watered down", clear finish. (I say the term "watered-down", but if you decided to use an oil-based finish, make sure to use mineral spirits, or lacquer thinner.)


I prefer to use water based polyurethane as my base. It's cheap and easy to clean up. Mix 1 part poly to 2 parts water. Next, you can add your pigment of choice. On my blog, I share my two favorite pigments for adding depth to stained wood. Stir well until evenly blended.
Spray or brush on the toner. Be careful, it will be VERY thin and easily runs. You will want to apply the toner on a horizontal surface, if possible and remember "less is more". Use multiple, thin coats to build the coverage you want.
This is how my sample board looked after 3 coats. Although there is finish mixed into the toner, its really only there to grab onto the wood. It won't provide much protection. I recommend at least 2 coats of clear to protect your work.


Ready for some awesome news?! A wood toner can be used over an existing finish! Yes, that means you can darken that golden oak table top of yours without stripping it to bare wood. I would recommend giving the surface a light sand, and wiping everything clean with some TSP before toning, and remember to add your clear coats.
Elisha PneumaticAddict
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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Frequently asked questions
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  • Kayla Hodges Kayla Hodges on Feb 10, 2019

    I recently bought this same product to darken my orangey cabinets that have an existing lacquer finish on them. When i got home, I read that you shouldn't use this over a lacquer finished surface because it could have issues with peeling. I did a test area and it looks like it stuck well......i got it colored with vandyke brown. Even after the recommended 3 coats, some orange hues still show, I want it a little darker. Is there a color that's a little darker than vandyke brown that might work better??

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  • Henhouse Henhouse on May 24, 2015
    Thank you so much for your tutorial! You have given me some ideas to use polyurethane that I had not thought of using.
  • Jan Nelson Jan Nelson on May 25, 2015
    For Susan: If I wanted to lighten, I would try sanding a little at a time until I reached what looked to be near what I wanted, probably a shade lighter because it would darken a bit when sealed.
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