We have a wood shed that's only 1 year old or so. After the wood shed was assembled, we applied a varnish called mahogany. That day, I was at work. When I came home, the varnish has already been applied all over.
Over the past year, I have realized the varnish color is NOT what I would have liked. The color is orange.
How easy is it to apply a varnish of a different color?
My ideal color would be walnut (after visiting my hardware supply store). If I apply this walnut on top of mahogany, would it be a mixed color of the two? Or would it replace (cover up) the mahogany?
If it would be a mixed color, then how do I get rid of the mahogany?
I do also wonder if over time the orange mahogany will become more pale due
to exposure to the sun and rain.
Does the shed need a varnish a few years down the road? If so, I can deal with this problem then.
Thank you!
Best Answer
Depending upon the varnish that got used, or more specifically depending upon that varnish's UV resistance, it may darken (yellow) soon from exposure to the sun. If it was a spar varnish, it'll withstand UV much longer. Either way, count on revarnishing after several years (less if non-spar varnish, more if spar varnish).
Walnut-stain varnish over mahogany-stain varnish will in fact result in a blended color, although the darker walnut-stain varnish will probably strongly predominate. You might try getting a tiny half-pint can of the color you'd like and run a test on a piece of scrap wood - varnish the scrap with the mahogany, let it set up fully, then varnish over in a small area with the walnut. If you still don't like the color, try another half-pint of a different color like "ebony", for example, or a blend, until you do like the color. When you decide what you definitely like, write a note describing what worked well and staple it to the inside wall of the shed where you'll remember it when it's time to varnish again.