Building new cabinets, difference in cedar color

[JSK76]

I'm going to be building some cabinets for my Ice Cabin and mine seems to have a much darker tone to the cedar paneling then other Ice cabins I've seen pictures of. I was able to find some cedar veneer paneling that matches up as far as the planking width but as you can see it much lighter. The paneling in the fish house is also a veneer panel.

I'm not sure what to do do I just build the cabinets and hope it darkens but I could see that taking years (the stuff in it is 4 years old). Would you try to find a stain for the new cedar? I'm thinking it might match now but what happens if it starts to darken over the years then becomes too dark? I could sand all the cedar that's in the house and bring it back to a color closer to what I just bought but that's a lot of work! To some it might not seem like a big deal to have the color

off after all it's just a fish house but I'm an auto body painter and matching colors is what I do, so leaving it would drive me nuts!

[PurpleFloyd]

I build cabinets for a living. You are dealing with a lot of variables when dealing with wood. The difference could be caused by the woods being different species or sub species, from being harvested from different areas, from one having developed patina over time through exposure to UV rays or patina from a clear coat applied a few years back vs new raw wood that hasn't been exposed to that yet.

If the existing wood was stained and you can identify for certain what exact stain and clear coat was used that would be your best bet. If it was only clear coated then again the best bet is to find that exact clear coat or at least a competing clear coat of the same formulation. I would start by wiping some mineral spirits on the cedar in the top picture and see how it compares to the lower wood. If it matches when wet then you are good to go.

Even the grit size of the final sanding between the two can have an impact meaning if the wood in the bottom of the picture was basically clear coated after milling with little or no finish sanding and the top wood was finished to 180 or 220 as is common with veneer then that can make a noticeable difference that is hard to fix.

The lower wood also shows more prominent knots while the top does nt and that can be cause by differences in how the wood was graded coming from the mill and the wood with the knots may have more "Character" and variation in color (sap wood vs heart wood)vs the veneer which is generally graded for more uniformity and clarity.

Long story short if the mineral spirits shows the woods can look close enough you are in business. If not and if you are picky it could take time, experience and effort to get to where you are happy.

[JSK76]

That's some good info right there! Did some more looking and even in the bathroom of the fish houses where there's no window the cedar is just as dark. I pulled a light switch cover off and it's maybe only 10% lighter in color. The cedar in the house doesn't seem to have any clear on it, I did sand a spot and it did lighten to about 1/2 way to what I bought. I tried mineral spirits on the new stuff and it worked pretty darn good. I would say the darkness is very close but it has a red hue to it, probably for reasons poseded in Floyd's post. I can possibly live with it with just the mineral spirits on it but might play with some browner colored stain too.

[PurpleFloyd]

Northern White Clear Cedar select grade

Nothern or Atlantic white cedar knotty grade

Aromatic red cedar (often used in cedar chests and closets)different species but added as a reference.

[PurpleFloyd]

That's some good info right there! Did some more looking and even in the bathroom of the fish houses where there's no window the cedar is just as dark. I pulled a light switch cover off and it's maybe only 10% lighter in color. The cedar in the house doesn't seem to have any clear on it, I did sand a spot and it did lighten to about 1/2 way to what I bought. I tried mineral spirits on the new stuff and it worked pretty darn good. I would say the darkness is very close but it has a red hue to it, probably for reasons poseded in Floyd's post. I can possibly live with it with just the mineral spirits on it but might play with some browner colored stain too.

Just to clarify- The Mineral spirits is just a temporary way to see what the wood would look like if you put an oil based clear coat on it as that is the most common clear finish used by people today. Lots of different formulations are out there as well as varnishes, which are becoming less common as time goes by and of course waterbased finishes which on the consumer level are most commonly formulated with acrylic resins, Lacquers, and conversion varnishes.

Obviously I am only speculating as I I am going off a fairly small sample board but I would suspect you just have 2 different grades of white cedar as well as the difference between solid lumber and a more uniformly sanded and graded veneer that resulted in the whiter color.

In my experience most people in the end would be satisfied with the clear poly finish. Good luck.

Edit- I see you stated that you don't think the existing wood has a clear coat of any kind on it. If that is the case you have options. If you want uniformity you now have the ability to choose a stain that you like and you can stain the existing wood as well as the new wood and clear coat all of it. This will give you the best shot at uniformity. Or you can leave it all unfinished. You could also try a natural stain on the new wood with no clear coat.

Personally, if it were me and none of the wood has been clear coated I would stain and clear all of it so you have it protected from the elements. Just my $.02.

[Trapper4]

You could tint some clear Danish Oil as needed on the light cedar. You would have to use straight clear on the dark cedar. It will get darker than it already is if it absorbs in. Then tint the oil for the lighter wood, or double coating will make it darker also. You might need a sample of the darker cedar to play with, to test the look.

Good luck.