How to stain maple to look aged yellow?

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JazzDrumGuy

JazzDrumGuy

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I am getting some maple shells. Not sure of exact condition yet but if I decide to go natural, I want a yellowed look, not a plain light color finish. See below....

What is the best way to get the drums that color? Some sort of stain first - if so, what? Stain the poly?
Ideas? Thank you.

(I'm an amateur, no spray booth, no real tools - simply going to hand wipe stain/paint and/or poly).......


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Go to home depot, and look at Minwax wood finishes---you should be able to find something you like. Keep in mind that maple will darken considerably with just a natural finish, and you can always go darker, but you can't go lighter.
 
looks like a honey amber. Id do a bunch of testing on scrap maple ply if you can, that also could be a dye stain hard to say...
 
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Amber shellac at least in my limited experience comes out sorta light brown on maple, I did this shell just with Poly and its close to what you want. The good part about the stains at home depot are they are stains and not dyes, they stay pretty much on top of the wood and can be stripped if not what you want. The bad is they are sorta hard to get applied to maple.

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Maple is a pain to stain. Ironically, I just posted on this builder forum that Home Depot NO LONGER carries Minwax in stores (online only)....how crappy!

Will need to check out amber shellac. There's gotta be a way I can add a dye (I am thinking Rit golden yellow) to some Minwax poly, tinker with the color, and make this work. Maybe food coloring? I want a deep dark color darker than Blue's to look aged - sort of like a "relic" type look.....
 
I had decent results by using one coat of golden oak oil/stain and then several coats of clear. Not as dark as your example though.
 
Lowes still carries minwax---I've been using it for over 40 years with great results. I haven't found maple any more difficult to stain than any other wood---I use a rag or paper towel to apply, and wipe off the excess as I go so the wood doesn't soak up too much color.
 
You might have to mix dye's to achieve the perfect blend then a stain over the top, BUT a perfect match CAN be reach with the right mix and process. I would suggest you start by taking a drum you want to match to a very good paint store (not a box store, they simply know how to mix colors in their system) but a PPG, Sherman Williams, ML Campbell, Gemini , etc. paint center that specializes in custom wood stains, dyes and finishes.
 
Interesting point, FatD. I will need enough stain for 3 shells (13/16/22) and if it goes right, I will strip wrap off a 12/14/18 and refinish to match (I hope!)......thanks.

I had difficulty staining maple wood hoops recently. Got the mahogany drum shells a nice dark color, but the hoops weren't getting as dark.........
 
JazzDrumGuy said:
I am getting some maple shells. Not sure of exact condition yet but if I decide to go natural, I want a yellowed look, not a plain light color finish. See below....

What is the best way to get the drums that color? Some sort of stain first - if so, what? Stain the poly?
Ideas? Thank you.

(I'm an amateur, no spray booth, no real tools - simply going to hand wipe stain/paint and/or poly).......


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That is about the color of my birch Yamaha Stage Customs. They are really sharp looking and sounding for moderately priced drums. I believe they call it honey amber
 
I may end up using a watered down acrylic paint. Beverly's (a craft store like Michael's) is right next to me and has hundreds of colors. If I can find the color I need, I can maybe wipe it on and off, dilute it and/or brush it to get the right wood color as well as keep the grain visible I hope......will keep you posted and thanks for the tips so far!
 
I am ready to stain my drums and here is a sample of what they should look like. I am using "curry yellow" from Beverly's. It's a water based acrylic paint. I tried it on a plain (pine?) clothes pin via wipe on, then wipe off, then some satin stain. Very quick job just to test color. I am also attaching a sample of the intended end result. The pin looks more yellowed then I want and actually looks pretty close to a vintage Gibson Goldrush mandolin.

Any thoughts? Ideas? Thanks!!!

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Do you have any shops near you that refinish guitars? They may be able to give you some advice on the correct steps to take.
 
So I was up late messing around and I think I got close to what I am looking for. The 13 and 22 had a lot of glue gunk on them, but the 16 was sanded down partly when I got them. After a lot of elbow grease (and a new technique to remove the glue), I got them down to bare, sanded them with 150 then 220, and put on 2 coats of "stain" using a foam brush with no pre-stain conditioner used, unlike my last project (Ludwig kit in March). I only did one coat of poly by hand using the wipe on, wipe off method. The old quart I had from the other kit was 1/2 full and had become gelled a little, so that was weird. I will be finishing the finish tonite and hope to have it up and running by the weekend. Next thing is the hardware....ugh!

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Looks good. Interested in the new way to remove the glue.... I had a 16x16 that looked like your 13 above, two me 2 cans of paint stripper to get all that crap off. I think I could have robbed a bank at some point from messing with that stripper, even with gloves on I think it took my finger tips off!
 
Blue, on that Ludwig refinish earlier this year, I had found Citrustrip stripper and put it on, let it sit usually overnite, then used a plastic spatula to remove the gunk. On what was left over, I used a terry cloth towel to rub off the rubber/stripping agent residue. Lot of work and a real pain.

This time, I did the same first step, but instead of a towel, I used a stiff green scouring pad sponge (5 pack for $1 at the dollar store). Much easier! I was worried about scratching the wood, but had no issue at all. I've used this sponge to dull chrome parts as it is very abrasive versus a regular 2-sided "abrasive" sponge (a lot of the dollar store sponges have an abrasive surface that is useless/cheap and won't even scratch chrome). These ones are all green and very stiff. Granted, I did go thru about 15-20 sponges.

Also, instead of leaving the stripping agent on until it dried into a flaky mess like before, I left it on only about 30 minutes. This way, although it comes off more gooey and wet, that dampness helps make the 2nd step easier.
 
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