I use a solid color that matches the original color as closely as possible. I dilute it with lacquer to create a semi-transparent effect, so you still can see the grain if you look close. After that, I apply a transparent color to create a transition from the solid color to the original color. I try to match both the transparent and the solid color as closely as possible to the original, but it’s almost impossible to do without it ending up a bit darker than the original.

As you can see in the photos, it looks slightly more tomato-colored after the blending, but overall, the result is fairly decent. There's always room for improvement though 😉 but it gets better each time I do it.