Definitions of Terms for Colors Used in Wood Staining

Many different colors are used in wood staining but the ones that are most commonly used by the wood-finisher at the present time are red, orange, green, brown, and black. Other colors in combination are frequently put together, often shading into neutral grays. Yellows and blues, while not used in the finishing-room in their pure form, are needed for mixing with other colors.

There are many terms associated with the use of colors in wood stains that the novice in wood finishing should know. A statement of the meanings of hue, chroma, tint, shade, and other terms, as used by the discriminating colorist may be of some help to the wood-finisher.

Hue is frequently used in the sense of color, as red, yellow, and so on. It is also employed in referring to a variation of a color as a result of mixing a small quantity of another color with it. Thus we say that the hues of blue spread out toward the violet blues on one side, and toward the green blues on the other. To the scientist, hue means a color of a definite wave-length.

Chroma refers to the strength, brilliancy, or intensity of a color. We can say that chrome yellow is a brilliant color of high chroma or that it is a strong color, while yellow- ochre is a dull color of weak chroma. Colors lose in chroma or intensity as a result of being neutralized or grayed.

Shade refers to the darker effects produced by adding black to a color. In a broader sense the term shade is now commonly used to include the tints of lighter steps of a color, as well as the darker effects. The shade of a color in its exact meaning refers to a spectral or brilliant color to which black has been added thus lowering it in tone.

The tint of a color is a lighter effect produced by adding white to an oil color or water to a transparent stain. A tint is lighter and more delicate than the standard color which is the spectral hue.

The value of a color refers to its position in a scale from dark to light. The tints and shades are therefore various values of the color itself. Black or white may be mixed with a color, and a change of value is the result; but there is no change in the hue or color itself otherwise.

Tone usually refers to the general effect, as \"painted in dark tones\" means that the effect is dark. Tone has reference to the degree of luminosity or power of reflecting light possessed by a color. Adding black or white to a normal color changes its tone.

Saturation of a color refers to its purity, or to the amount of white light which is contained in the color. White in the form of pigments, of course, has no hue and no saturation.

Warm colors are the fire colors represented by red, orange, and yellow. Red is sometimes called a hot color.

Cold colors are the ice colors of blue, and its neighbors in the spectrum, green, and violet. A yellow green may be called a warm green, and in the same sense a red violet is a warm violet.

The tint of a color is a lighter effect produced by adding white to an oil color or water to a transparent stain. A tint is lighter and more delicate than the standard color which is the spectral hue.