Finishing and Refinishing

[gambit915]

Is there a way to make the grain on quarter sawn oak "POP"  kinda like the old antiques where the grain just stand out. Sorry for my explanation, but don't know how else to explain it.

                                                                      Thanks, Dave

[Steve Mickley]

Dave;

...let me welcome you to the new and improved WOOD Magazine Finishing & Refinishing Forum.  I see from your profile that this is your first post.  I hope you will return often-you will find many experienced woodworkers and finishers here to help you with your finishing and refinishing questions.

Quarter-sawn oak is no more difficult to stain than flat-sawn.  Oak is among the easiest of all woods to color with pigment stain.  If I may, it isn't the "grain" you are trying to "pop"; it is the medulary rays you are trying to emphasize.  In the quarter-sawn orientation the medulary rays of oak become quite prominent.  These are cell structures that radiate out from the center of the tree somewhat like the spokes on a bicycle wheel.  When viewed in a flat-sawn board they appear as fine lines, almost like light pencil lines.  On red oak they are quite short, less than 1" long.  In white oak the lines are much longer, over 1" in length.  But, when quarter-sawn they are exposed in all their glory.  When compared to the surrounding wood the medulary rays are quite dense with a fine texture akin to the fine texture we would expect to find in hard maple.  Therefore, in finishing quarter-sawn oak the objective should be to prep and finish based on the finer and denser texture of the rays.  Following is a schedule that has worked well for me:

Sand to a finer grit:

I usually don't sand oak beyond 150P or 180P.  But, when working with quarter-sawn oak I send through 220P.  I want to make sure that I have removed all of the sanding scratches from the medulary rays.

Apply the "base color" with water-soluble dye:

 Coloring oak is always a two-step operation for me; but, with quarter-sawn oak the use of both dye and pigment stain is particularly important.  I begin with water-soluble dye for the lighter base color.  The water-soluble dye will define the primary color I am after.  For example, I might begin with a light fumed oak dye.  Sponge on the dye liberally, wipe off the excess and allow to dry.

Seal with a "barrier coat" of shellac:

When the dye is fully dry (four to six hours) I apply a "barrier coat" of shellac mixed in a two-pound cut.  For a light color finish I use super blonde shellac.  For a dark Mission look I use the garnet grade.  The role of the shellac is to prevent the pigment stain in the next step from altering the color of the dye.  When the shellac is dry I lightly sand with 320P open coat sand paper.  Sand just enough to smooth the surface taking care not to cut through the shellac.

Highlight the open grain of the oak with dark pigment stain:

Next, apply a heavy bodied gel stain in a very dark color.  Work the stain into the grain by applying in a circular motion; then, wipe away the excess and allow the stain to cure.  The objective is to leave the dark color gel stain only in the open pores of the oak-remove all of the stain from the broad medulary rays.  The role of the stain is to simulate the lamp black tinted wax frequently used by Mission/Art & Craft builders.  Even on furniture not made in the Mission style I find that by darkening the open pores of the oak I give much greater depth to my finish.

Topcoat:

On the subject of a topcoat you have a number of options.  Before making a specific recommendation it will be helpful to know what you are making and the look you want to achieve...

Steve 

[LibertyWW]

I just built a new house and made all the cabinetry and trim from quartersawn white oak.  I found a way to make the ray fleck pop.  Here is my finishing schedule:

I sand everything to 220 grit with a random orbit sander

Apply 1 coat of General Finishes Industrial Stain in Special Walnut (this is a special color from Homestead Finishing)

Once that coat is dry, I sand at 400 grit to knock down the grain.   I also want to take some of the stain of the ray fleck, this happens naturally when you knock down the grain.

I apply a 2nd coat of the same stain and let that dry

Once that 2nd coat is dry, I spray PreCat 181 urethane (also from General Finishes)

When the 1st topcoat is dry, I sand at 600 grit or 0000 steel wool

I apply 2 more topcoats and sand or steel wool lightly in between

The woodwork in our house really pops, the ray fleck is a lighter golden brown and stands out from the deeper brown of the rest of the wood.  Many people that have seen my house ask me what kind of wood it is because they have never seen anything like it.  The biggest issue I ran into was with veneered PDF panels, the water based stain made the veneer bubble a tiny tiny bit on some of the ray fleck.

Fred

[Jimca]

Fred,

Where did you source the QSWO veneered MDF from?  I'm interested in building kitchen cabinets in the mission style.

[heisel334065]

I don't like the way stains and/or dyes pool in the open pores of oak so I do QSWO the old fashioned way, by fuming with 26% aqueous ammonia. This technique results in more even coloring.

The downside is you need to construct an airtight chamber and buy a full face respirator with ammonia cartridges. I suggest you do a lot of research before attempting this technique. However, it can be done safely.

[amateur60]

The fuming technique is what makers of arts and crafts furniture did, at least sometimes, and it does give a very even look.  That's not what the OP was looking for, he was looking to emphasize the "flake" on QSWO.  Ammonia fuming would give the opposite of what he was looking for. 

Frankly, I've not observed a great deal of excess concentration of dye in the pores of oak with dye.  Certainly, not to nearly the same degree as with pigment only stain.  For that matter, sometimes dye will "resist" the dye, acting as if the inside of the pore walls were waxed. 

The fact that dye does color the flake as well as the wood in between calls for caution if your aim is to emphasize the flake pattern.  You need to keep the dye step relatively light colored to develop the maximum contrast with the pigment stain.  Even so, the dye step helps to pull the coloration together and provide a more complex and interesting finish. 

[Steve Mickley]

Pete;

...the Mission builders who employed fuming virtually always took steps after fuming to darken the pores.  The most frequent technique was to apply wax tinted with lamp black after "sealing" the fumed oak with a coat of finish, usually shellac.   Fuming by itself produces a uniform, but some would say a somewhat bland color...

Steve

[oakhutch]

Go to Homestead finishing website. Jeff Jewit has a formula for "matching" fumed oak look. I followed the formula and dyed a new piece and it was about an exact match to the two antique pieces that I was making the new piece to go with. Just my 2Cents.