Tips On How To Do Oak Woodgraining

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Curt A
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Tips On How To Do Oak Woodgraining

Post by Curt A »

To get the correct effect for old quartersawn oak, you need a metal check roller or fine tooth metal graining comb (not those rubber rocker graining tools) to get the look of fine grain oak. Modern oak has a wider grain, where old oak has a fine straight grain, so you want to emulate that antique oak look. The rubber rocker graining tools replicate the look of wide grain pine...

Disclosure: I have not done wood graining, but I asked the best wood graining artist I ever met - who did my cygnet horn, how it was done. Unfortunately he died 5 or 6 years ago, so I can't ask him any more questions...

The basics are these: (1) paint the horn with a primer, (2) paint over the primer with a base coat which is a similar color to the oak background - usually a dark yellowish color, (3) spray the base color with a clear coat (lacquer) to keep the graining stain from setting too quickly, (4) apply the graining stain, which can be a gel stain that contrasts and darkens the yellowish background, brush it on in long straight lines, (5) before the graining stain dries, roll the check roller over the panel in straight lines to create the grain effect or use a metal graining comb to create the straight, fine graining, (6) wrap a small cloth around your finger and wipe the stain away to create the "flakes" or tiger striping effect, (7) take a dry cheap paint brush and gently brush - LIGHTLY - over the entire area to blur and blend the graining to give it a more natural effect, (8) when it looks right, wait for it to dry and coat the entire area with a thin coat of amber shellac... I believe that when Danny did my horn he taped every other panel and did them one at a time, when they were done he re-taped the other panels and then proceeded to repeat the procedure on the unfinished panels. This made each panel look like a separate piece of wood, if that makes sense.

Before you start painting your horn, you should practice on something to get the hang of it... Also, keep a picture of a piece of quartersawn oak nearby to compare the flaking pattern... GOOGLE quartersawn oak or tiger oak and you should find a number of pictures.

Here's a video that gives a general tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExHVeUCXwPY
Wood graining check rollers: https://walltools.com/advance-2-wood-gr ... k-rollers/
Wood graining steel combs: https://www.fauxbrushes.com/WD-5.html
Last edited by Curt A on Tue Jul 28, 2020 10:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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AudioFeline
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Re: Tips On How To Do Oak Woodgraining

Post by AudioFeline »

It's amazing how good these faux wood finishes can look (and also faux marble paint finishes). There are some very talented artisans out there, your instructions (and youtube) show that it's not outside the realm of DYI'ers to create.

BTW, the link to the "walltools" wood graining check rollers is broken.

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Curt A
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Re: Tips On How To Do Oak Woodgraining

Post by Curt A »

Thanks for the comments and the heads up on the check roller link - the link is now correct.
"The phonograph† is not of any commercial value."
Thomas Alva Edison - Comment to his assistant, Samuel Insull.

"No one needs a Victrola XX, a Perfected Graphophone Type G, or whatever you call those noisy things."
My Wife

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