Furniture, Wood and Cabinetry Finishing - Achieving uniform honey finish across 3 different wood species

I'm looking for some guidance on how to achieve a golden honey color finish on a piece that has 3 different species of wood- red maple, poplar, and birch veneer. The red maple has a lot of tan and grey running through it, and the poplar has a moderate amount of heartwood.

1. Would a toner be the best way to try to achieve a uniform honey color between them? I would like to downplay the differences between them, not enhancing the grain, and reduce the chance of blotchiness. I already have them all sanded to 180 grit, and removed all the sanding dust, now I'm just not sure how to proceed.

2. Do I need to sand the birch to a higher grit because it's veneer?

3. If you do recommend using a toner, can it be applied using a brush, as opposed to a spray? Spraying really isn't an option for me, unfortunately.

Thank you, in advance.

1- Uniform sanding (same grit for everything) should be sufficient.

2- A toner is about your only choice.

3- The only readily available product I know that can be used as a toner and brush applied is Minwax Polyshades - each succeeding coat deepens the original color.

A word of caution: because you're applying color and finish, the darker the color the more readily brush strokes will appear - remember you're moving color and finish around when you brush.

Thanks, George, for the response. I'm a total newbie, so forgive all the questions. I had looked at this product in the store a little while ago, and was told this was just a stain with polyurethane in it, and they said is not a 'toner'. What makes it a toner? Is it in how I am to use it? Do I need to do something/add something to it first, in order to use it as a toner? Or, is there something I am supposed to apply before/after the polyshades that makes it a toner application?

Right now I have just the sanded 3 types of woods, all the sanding dust is off. Do I apply the polyshades now, or is there something else to do first like a wash coat? Do I apply a regular oil-based stain or gel stain after using the polyshades? And then a varnish after that?

Thanks again, I just want to be sure I do this right!

I am not familiar with 'toners' but from George's reply I assume it is the same as tinted poly/varnish. Polyshades colors the wood by having color in the 'clear' finish. The more coats you apply the more the wood will be colored. Tinted poly/varnish must be applied evenly. If one area has a thicker coat it will be darker than an area with less. Lap marks must be avoided because they will be especially noticable.

There shouldn't be a need for a wash coat. Stain isn't effective after poly is applied. Varnish usually can't be applied over poly. After the polyshades is applied [if not dark enough apply another coat] you should apply a coat of regular [clear] polyurathane. This will protect the color coat from wear.

hope this helps

Thanks for the reply. If it's just polyurethane with a stain in it, I'm not sure how that creates a uniform color between the 3 types of woods. Isn't that what a toner is supposed to do - allow you to create a uniform appearance if you're using different wood species?

if you can, use scraps of your three different woods and wipe on
either paint thinner of lacquer thinner to see what the wood looks
like with a clear finish. you need to decide at this point
which is the dominate colour.

is it darker than the "amber" colour that you want?


toner is material that you add to lacquer or poly that you spray on
over previous clear coats. it adds an even colour overall.

some times you only spot tone to bring one part of the piece to the colour
that is dominate, then clear coat.

come back with the info after you use the paint thinner of lacquer thinner test.
be explicit in describing the colours.