Colouring and tinting new cane to look like the old stuff!

There seem to be a few schools of thought when it comes to whether new bright cream cane should be coloured to look old or not. A lot of caners I know just refuse to do it, others are loathe to try because the results can be a bit disappointing, then others feel that the cane should be allowed to age and discolour naturally.

Recently we've had a lot of panels that had to be coloured and I must admit that some of them have been a challenge! Like the modern bench seat below..........almost purple....!

The panels above are new replacements and were bright cream, they have all been tinted to one degree or another.

And this modern French chair seat, opaque cream.

I only ever use powder water based colouring which can then be sealed using oils or shellac to give the final desired colour and I only tint the reverse of the panel if it shows, like on a back. The colour is mixed to match as closely as possible in the pot first before application, then it's "one hit" to get it right.

Fiddly, but sometimes it just has to be done!