For most shops, finish repairs are a bother that takes time, saps profits, and often gives unsatisfactory results to you and your customers. Perfect Match helps solve those problems with a line of easy-to-use stain markers.
How they work
The Perfect Match stain markers look and function much like a paint pen or a marking pen, except they are designed to allow you to fill them yourself. That means you can fill the marker with the exact same stain you used on a project, providing an exact match for repairs, touch-ups or even detailing things such as moulding edges.
Start by removing the porous nib, then put the tip of the marker into any liquid stain (oil base or water base is fine). Next, pull the plunger at the back of the marker much like a syringe to draw the stain into the marker. Once the plunger is fully extended, you just unscrew it. Replace the nib in the front of the marker and press the marker down on the nib a few times to activate the flow and saturate the nib. From then on, just use the marker like a paint pen.
In use
We tried the markers with a variety of stains and on a range of surfaces will all good results. The basic chisel tip probably meets most of your needs, but there are also pointed and bullet pointed tips available. A nib holder can be screwed into the back of the marker to keep extra nibs handy.
Because the marker is so easy to use and inexpensive (under $10), you might want to give them to customers as a premium at the end of a job, preloaded with the correct stain for touch-up. For more information about the product, visit http://www.perfectmatchstainmarker.com/contact.php.
William Sampson is a lifelong woodworker, and he has been an advocate for small-scale entrepreneurs and lean manufacturing since the 1980s. He was the editor of Fine Woodworking magazine in the early 1990s and founded WoodshopBusiness magazine, which he eventually sold and merged with CabinetMaker magazine. He helped found the Cabinet Makers Association in 1998 and was its first executive director. Today, as editorial director of Woodworking Network and FDMC magazine he has more than 20 years experience covering the professional woodworking industry. His popular "In the Shop" tool reviews and videos appear monthly in FDMC.
Have something to say? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.