# wood stains to give appearance of Elm



## TWheels (May 26, 2006)

So far all of my woodworking has been with white pine or other home center white woods. The pine does need to be finished and sealed. For reasons of history, I recently became interested in staining my wood to look like American Elm. So far I have learned that elm changes color (colour for Her Majesty) with the heartwood having a reddish tint which younger wood lacks. I also do not have an environment in which I feel comfortable using oil based stains. 

Can anyone lead me to water based stains that will give the appearance of elm? I am not really concerned about the grain differences, etc.

I live in west central Illinois, equidistant from Peoria, Springfield and Moline-Rock Island-Bettendorf-Davenport but I do most things except actually buying wood online.

Thanks very much.


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

This question might be best answered by posting your question at: minwax.com


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## TWheels (May 26, 2006)

I have looked at minwax.com. They have 73 colours but not elm.


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## jerrymayfield (Sep 25, 2004)

Elm is a ring porous wood that resembles oak,although there is some Southern elm that has varying color streaks, You can mimic the color of elm with any light brown(oak) stain,but the texture and grain of pine will never appear the same. Elm like chestnut was used for mostly utilitarian types of furniture,if used for furniture at all.

Regards

Jerry


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## TWheels (May 26, 2006)

Jerry, Mike 

Thanks very much for your responses. Jerry, your suggestion is especially helpful and I will be looking into it. Can Elm be more closely simulated by mixing an oak stain with another?

As you can tell I know very little about wood finishing. My sudden interest in Elm is as much professional and political as it is general wood finishing. Many Elms in North America were wiped out by Elms Yellow disease in the 1920's and then in 1930 Dutch Elm disease arrived in the U.S. and slowly (as in decades) moved westward. There is a particular Elm tree that is of historical significance to my home state, me and my ancestors. This tree died in 1925 and all the sources now say it died of Dutch Elm disease.


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

When all else fails I turn to Mohawk Professional finishing products. They have products that you can use to "create" an elm appearance on your pine. This involves a good deal of artistry since you will have to draw the grain pattern. It would be an expensive undertaking and could be easily damaged since the pine is so soft. You might be better off locating some elm from one of the many online wood sources.


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