Furniture, Wood and Cabinetry Finishing - darken the stain

I am about to stain my pine baseboards for a bathroom, and want the final color to be close (I'm not looking for an exact match) to the cabinets color. Right now I am playing with the scraps that were left over and regular Minwax golden pecan stain. I tried the wood conditioner, and could not get the color close, so I've tried staining without the conditioner, and have come close after 4 coats. The tone of the color is correct, but I would like it to be darker/more intense.

At this point will more coats make any difference, or are there any tricks of the trade that could help me dartken this?

Staining pine can be tricky to match anything else. You might try a scrap sanded with 100 grit paper to see if opening the grain a bit helps darken the effect. After more than a couple of coats there won't be much more change.

Additional coats of stain don't usually make a real big difference.
What I have tried a few times is to mix different shades of minwax oil base stains. Once mixed dark walnut with a pine stain to achieve a darker color.

fred

Thanks for the replies! I'll give the sanding a try first. If that doesn't do the trick, I'll rummage through the garage to see what left overs I have. I assume when mixing I would have to use they same type (ie not mix the poly with the regular oil stain), or can I mix different types as long as they are both water based or oil based?

I would stay with like brands for mixing.

fred

Sanding didn't help very much, but I've found some Golden Oak to try with it. Good thing I slightly overestimated my trim needs, there's lots of scraps!

They sell tints for stain that come in a small tube so you can darken or make custom colors.You can get it from a flooring supply store.