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Faux Woodgraining
Woodgraining with a Brush - part 1
Brush Graining: Negative Method - Brushes and Techniques
Brushes.
I love brush graining because the tools are simple and you can often do a good job with just one layer.
My favorite and (most used) woodgraining brushes are:
- fan fitch
- chip brushes (you can do it all with a chip brush - drag, mottle and flog)
- piped overgrainer
- straight or wavy mottler
- synthetic badger softener
The fan fitch brush is indispensable for brush graining trim. Used as a dragging brush to comb out the wood grain. These brushes are inexpensive and come in a number of sizes. The chip brush is also an inexpensive brush that can be used in the same way that the fan fitch is used. The piped overgtainer also used to drag out the grain, has a different look than that of the fan fitch or chip brush. The piped overgrainer groups the bristles with small spacing between. The mottler is used over the top of the dragged out grain, as is the softener brush. The softener is used to lightly stipple or flog the dragged out grain in one layer graining. The soft light bristles of the softener break up the grain without totally obliterating it.
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Brush graining can be done either negatively by dragging a dry brush through the glaze to create the desired woodgrain, or it can be done positively - by drawing in each grain line with a liner brush one by one, or several grain lines at once with a piped overgrainier or fan fitch. You can even do a combination of negative and positive techniques to get the most out of a one layer / one step graining.process.
Base Coat
With oil glaze I use B-I-N most of the time. You may also use 123 Bullseye, but B-I-N dries and cures faster, so that is my preference. With latex glaze ( Modern Masters Tinable Glaze), you can use Coverstain or 123 Bullseye.
Glaze
You can use a good thick "wiping stain" such as Old Masters (which takes a l-o-n-g time to dry), or Zar brand stain or even Sherwin Williams Wood Classics stain. .
The nice thing about wiping stains is that you can use their pre-mixed colors or intermix their colors and your woodgrain glaze can be the same as your staining stain. The down side to wiping stains is that they don't hold a pattern as well as "real" glaze. My favorite oil glaze is Pratt and Lamberts oil glaze properly thinned, or Modern Masters latex glaze (Tinable Glaze) which I use straight out of the "can"
Brush graining will give you a grain that works well for Walnut, Mahogany or Maple as well as a number of other woods. The techniques described below can be considered a "generic" non-specific wood - brush graining technique.
Technique
I don't lay down any "undergraining" layers (see Oak graining) for negative brush grained woods. The tightness of the grain pattern from the brush doesn't require this. You can if you with "overgrain" a layer on top (mottling is a common overgrain) but this is not necessary. Good brush graining (negative) can be done in one layer, the key is giving that one layer enough variation and detail.
Over the proper base coat in the appropriate color, apply the woodgraining glaze. You will be using one brush to apply the glaze (you can use a chip brush for this if using oil), and another brush (fan fitch or chip brush or piped overgrainier) to drag out the grain.
Dragging
Apply the stain glaze on in the direction of the board or trim that you are graining. Stretch the glaze out with the application brush so that it is not too heavy or thick.If the glaze is applied too heavily it won't hold a pattern very well.
With a fan fitch or chip brush, drag out the grain from one end of the board to the other. Dragging is done in a gradual meandering way - do not drag in an absolute straight line. Study real wood for you examples of graining and mimic them. Always vary your dragging. Repetition is something you want to avoid. Real wood grain is like the snow flake, no two pieces of wood are exactly alike (unless they are "book-matched " splicing or veneers see cabinet graining and the bookmatching that is commonly done on the doors).
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Drag out the grain in a meandering way and with a bounce and a wiggle here and there as you drag the grain out. Add hesitation here and there also as you drag the board out. To add bounce you add and release pressure on your fitch brush as you pull / drag the grain. The bristles never come off of the surface during the "bounce" - it is more of a light pressing and releasing motion. You can do the bounce or hesitation in a rhythmic way at times which will give the grain a nice rhythmic mottle, and at other times do so randomly. Mix it up. You want lots of variation in your graining. Vary the meandering to a greater or lesser degree. Do fairly straight grain. Add knots. Do some large curves in the grain. Always be creative and mix it up. Use real wood to give you ideas on variation.
Practice the dragging variables (bounce, wiggle and hesitation) along with meandering variations on a piece of illustration board until you understand the nuances of each and have them mastered.
Brush grained stringer to match the stair steps (color) - on a two toned stain job.
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