Staining Meranti hardwood + ply fire door to match ?

[Mactavsy]

The french doors I need only come in "meranti" hardwood.
Would these stain to a lightish oak effect?

Also I need a fire door to fit right next to these french doors and you can't get a "meranti" hardwood fire door. Also, this would be a toilet door so want as soundproof as poss. Someone suggested ply. Would this stain up well to match whatever finish I get on the meranti hardwood?

Thanks anyone.

[Oddbod]

Hi. A lot of places call any unnamed mahogany type hardwood "Meranti" - which doesn't help much.

Most "Meranti" is already darker than light oak, so I suspect you are off to a bad start with your French doors - you can't stain or colour something lighter.

Chances are that bog-standard ply is probably "Meranti" (whatever that is!) anyway.

Basically you can colour a lighter wood darker, but not the other way around. So provided the fire-door is lighter you stand a chance. For a DIY-er you'd be better off using a coloured varnish, it's more controllable than a stain. Remember you can always switch to clear varnish for the remaining coats when you get it dark enough.

[Mactavsy]

Thanks, Oddbod. Most helpful.
I've got my doors now and they've come in fairly light so should be able to varnish them up nicely.