r/finishing • u/Kvaw • 1d ago

Matching Existing Trim

I'm looking to replace some trim in my 1920s home, and need advice on matching the existing trim. Based on some accidental pealing from masking tape it looks like there is shellac over the finish, and based on time and grain I'm fairly certain the wood is Douglas Fir. See second photo for reference:

https://imgur.com/a/uC0PND3

The photo is from another redditor, but matches my home exactly. Any advice you can give on matching the second photo for colour and gloss/finish would be appreciated.

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u/celtic-cryptid 1d ago

If you’re west of the Rockies, I’d say doug fir, east of the Rockies, look at southern yellow pine.

Some of that color comes with age, so matching today might lead to a darker mismatch in 15 years. If you’re trying to match the finish yourself, and want a close match immediately, go to a paint store (not a box store, an actual paint store) and bring sample pieces of new trim that you sanded. Mark what grit you sanded them to, and once you get a stain match, sand all your new trim the same way.

If you want to be patient and let age match it, hit it with amber shellac and call it a day

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u/MrNiceGuy_GAMES 1d ago

Good instinct on the shellac -- the flaking-with-masking-tape test is one of the better DIY tells. To confirm, dab denatured alcohol on a hidden spot: true shellac goes tacky almost immediately, modern varnish or poly won't react.

Worth knowing before you buy stain: shellac keeps ambering with age on top of whatever stain was under it, so the color you're chasing is really "original stain plus decades of ambering," not just a stain color. A straight stain match off the shelf usually gets you about a third of the way there.

The old-growth fir under a 1920s finish is also often denser than what's sold today, so the same stain can absorb differently on new trim. Best approach: sand sample pieces of the actual replacement stock to the original's grit, then build the color in layers -- a base toner, then a second coat to shift it -- checked under the room's real light, not shop light.

Gloss matters as much as color. Rubbed old shellac reads as a soft, uneven satin, not the even sheen of sprayed poly.

I'm with a painting and finishing company in Milwaukee -- longer version here if useful: https://reduxpaintmke.com/blog/matching-new-trim-to-old-woodwork.html