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Client asked me to match a 1980s kitchen cabinet stain that was long discontinued
Last Tuesday I spent 4 hours mixing toner and wiping samples on maple offcuts before the guy finally admitted he took the original doors to a strip and refinish shop anyway, so what's the move when a customer lies about what they actually want?
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felix_lane992mo ago
Four hours mixing toner sounds like a personal choice, not a hostage situation. Whenever a client starts talking about a discontinued stain from the 80s, that's the first red flag they're not gonna actually use it. Next time just hand them the Sherwin-Williams fan deck and let them pick something off the shelf. If they lie about what they want, that's on them not you. People do weird stuff with their kitchens and trying to match old mystery stains is usually a losing game anyway.
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bettywood2mo ago
One time I had a guy bring in a piece of baseboard from a house that got torn down in the 70s and wanted me to match the paint. It was this weird greenish brown color that looked like someone mixed avocado and mud. I spent maybe two hours playing with it, finally got close, and he just says "nah, I think I'll go with white instead." People get attached to these old colors for reasons they can't even explain. It's like they want closure on a project they've been thinking about for twenty years but aren't ready to commit. Your mileage may vary but I've learned that nine times out of ten the old stain thing is a rabbit hole best left alone.
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