Keeping the oak grain when painting it

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JanineP
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Keeping the oak grain when painting it

Post by JanineP »

Hello
I’m making a series of frames for a client. some are oak with just a beeswax polish, the others the client wants in oak painted white. I’ve trialled a white spirit and it’s not white enough and I’m now using an earth white pigment and am loosing the grain a lot. Have watered the paint down and been using 0000 wire wool to try to get the grain to show again but the wood is turning the paint a grey colour.
Am new to framing and would love any advise on how to paint oak and keep the grain showing.
Thanks,
Janine
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Re: Keeping the oak grain when painting it

Post by fusionframer »

I suspect it is the wire wool causing the paint to grey.

What paint are you using. I use daler titanium white acrylic and watered down, should leave grain showing.

Just liberon black bison neutral wax and buffed with a yellow duster.

Nick
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Re: Keeping the oak grain when painting it

Post by Not your average framer »

Hi janine,

What sort of paint are you using? Not all types of paint necessarily produce the same effect. I've only ever tried this with acrylic paints, but only ever with darker colours, so I am wondering if white will produce a perfect result. I'm not sure that I would be using titanium white as it sometimes does strange things. You may also consider getting a bronze bristle brush to help to open up the grain before painting. Not all Oak grain necessarily is going to show through the the paint, some should but real wood always has some random elements related to how the wood grain in formed.

You can raise the grain a bit by progressive brushing, wetting the grain and drying the grain with a hot air heat gun, while it is still wet, but after the wood has absorbed the water into he cells of the wood. Water gets absorbed into the wood more easily than it can get out, so the water within the cells of the wood is likely to turn iinto stream and pump up the cells withing the wood grain patterning. There are no guarantees how much this wiil increase the effect you are looking for, but it works to some degree on many other wood types. I have never done this with Oak, but it should do something.

I would not try this with chalk paints, as chalk paints often will hide wood grain effects and not let them show through. It sounds like you've got an interesting project on you hands. I hope it goes well for you.
Mark.
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JanineP
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Re: Keeping the oak grain when painting it

Post by JanineP »

Thanks Nick and Mark, both really useful replies.

The paint is a rose and hollis white earth pigment - its water based. Am wondering if perhaps I didn’t water it down enough.

Will try some other white paints watered down, minus the wire wool.

Great tips relating to the grain, it can be so inconsistent I agree!
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prospero
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Re: Keeping the oak grain when painting it

Post by prospero »

I think the best you are going to do is with a couple or three coats of white acrylic. I use black on Ash and it leaves the grain
pattern showing nicely.

Btw. As mentioned, don't use wirewool+wax on white finishing as it will grey it. And on oak or ash tiny metal fragments
will lodge in the grain and react with the wood. Unless you want a spotty finish. :| :lol:
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Re: Keeping the oak grain when painting it

Post by vintage frames »

What you want is some sort of paint that gives a clean white coating but doesn't clog up the grain.

All commercial 'white' paints contain the basic white pigment and a load of extenders and fillers which bulk up the paint and create that grain fill problem. The simple reason is that the pigment is the expensive bit and all the fillers are added to create value and profit for the manufacturer.

Artists acrylic paint will give you a more pigment rich paint but like cheap wine, you're paying for the liquids and packaging.

If it doesn't scare you, the cheapest way to do this is to buy 1/2 kilo of Titanium White pigment powder and add this to diluted PVA to make your own paint. You could paint a house with that much pigment.

Go to E-bay, you'll find 500gm of Titanium Oxide powder for about £11.80.
Dilute some ordinary PVA 1:1 with water.
Sprinkle in the Titanium until you have a completely opaque paint.
Sieve it through a disposable paint filter ( E-bay ) and paint it on.

When dry, rub on a thin coat of clear wax and polish with a stencil brush.
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