Painting and Decorating Concourse
734-464-3883
SM
copyright 2007 Paint-N-Stain Inc. / Terms of Use
Quarter Sawn Oak Woodgraining
The Internet Paint Store
"the right way to buy paint supplies"
http://www.paintnstaininc.com/TheInternetPaintStore.html
 | ||||
Our "terms of use" governs your use of our website; by using our website, you accept this disclaimer in full. If you disagree with any part of our "terms of use", do not use our website.
Quarter sawing of oak was the most common method of making oak boards until the World War 2 years. The quarter sawn figures are commonly seen on most antique furniture made of oak.
Today most oak is "plain sawn" straight through the log. Plain sawn cutting methods (also known as "straight sawn"), produces less waste, and is more productive (faster to mill), than quarter sawing. It was primarily these reasons that led to the decline in quarter sawing of oak..
You will also need:
- Foam brush for applying the B I N primer
- Poster board
- 2" latex paint brush for applying glaze to the board
- 2" or 3" brush to dry brush dragging out the glaze
- 1 Qt. 1-2-3 Bullseye Deep Tint primer tinted to match Sherwin Williams SW2327 color (see below for tinting instructions).
- 1 Qt of B I N pigmented shellac primer
Tools & Materials:
Prepare the Sample Board
(We will practice graining on a sample board)
Sample Board Instructions:
For sample board preparation you will need to prime the front of the board to water proof it which will help to prevent the board from curling when you apply the base coat.
Use the foam brush and apply the BIN primer to the sample board. Brush in the direction of the wood grain, which in this case will be from top of the board to the bottom.
Base Coat
Base coat color should be similar to this color chip
Sample Board Instructions:
Prime and base coat your sample board with Bullseye 1 2 3 deep tint primer - match it to the base coat color sample shown here, apply two coats, allow the first coat 1 hour to dry before applying the second.
Real life application tip
Bullseye will stick to most glossy surfaces. If you are going to grain over an oil base painted -glossy surface, clean the surface with "Dirtex" or a "no-rinse" type of cleaner, then prime it with "Coverstain", before base coating with 1 2 3 Bullseye
Allow the base coat to dry two hours minimum drying time (if using Bullseye deep tint) before proceeding to the next step of under glazing.
Base Coated Sample Board
Under Graining - The Background Grain
Glaze Color
Color Matching Rules
- Base Coat should match the lightest color in the wood you are imitating.
- Glaze color should match the darkest color in the wood you are imitating.
Tiniting with Universal Tints
To tint your glaze, you can either do it yourself, or have the paint store do it for you. If you are new at this, it is best to have the paint store tint it for you.
To match to the glaze swatch for our sample board, you will tint your quart of Modern Masters glaze with
* 1oz Raw Sienna (or deep gold if using Sherwin Williams tint)
* 1/2 oz Burnt Umber
* 1/2 ox Raw Umber
This formula will get you close enough to the swatch for our sample board graining purposes. I use "Cal Tints" to do my own matching. You can use measuring cups or measuring spoons to measure out the tint.
Different tints will be stronger than others, so when matching for a particular wood, you may need to adjust for this variable.
Don't add too much tint. The glaze will not dry or cure properly if over tinted. Too much tint in your glaze will also make the glaze too opaque and "paint-like" which lacks the transparency needed for good woodgraining. If you are too opaque, add a little more clear glaze to your mix to thin it back to the proper transparency. You want the transparency of a "semi - transparent stain" (not like that of a "solid stain")..
See pre-mixed glazes below if you would rather avoid this tinting procedure. When matching with pre-mixed glazes you will buy a few different colors that are close to your desired match and intermix them to get your match.
Note: make sure you make enough glaze to get you through the whole job when mixing this way as it will be harder (not impossible) to rematch without a tint formula.
Sample Board Instructions:
Apply the glaze in the direction of the wood grain. In the case of your sample board apply glaze from top to bottom of the board. Do not apply too much glaze to the board, it is best to keep it thin and "stretch" the glaze out with a dry brush after applying the glaze, this will keep the background light as it should be. Wipe your brush dry in a paper towel (only if using a latex glaze, don't do this if using an oil glaze - as you will be creating a solvent laden rag which would be spontaneously combustible) after dragging it through the glaze every few strokes. A simple dragged background works well with quarter sawn and rift sawn oak - just remember to keep it thin and light.
Graining - The Primary Grain
Glaze: Same as for under graining
Steel Graining Combs
Whistler and Embee brands
Modern Masters Tintable Glaze
Primed Sample Board
| ||||
Basecoats
The three basecoats that I use for woodgraining are:
- Bin Primer
- 123 Bullseye Primer
- Coverstain Primer
Glaze
The three glaze products that I use for woodgraining are:
- Modern Masters (waterbased)
- Sherwin Williams
(oil based)
- Old Masters Wiping Stain
(pre-mixed colors oil based glaze)
Dragging Technique
Dragging is done with a dry brush. Course bristled brushes work well for this, but you can use just about any brush for this. The key with dragging is to get brush lines. Dragging is done in the direction of the wood grain, and is done in one long continuous stroke from one end of the "board" to the other.
Always work in small workable sections. If you are doing a flat panel door for example, apply the glaze to the 1/3 of the door from top to bottom, then dry brush it once through from top to bottom leaving the side edge "wet" and unworked, this will allow for blending of the sections together seamlessly. After your initial dry brush pass, drag out the glaze, leaving the edge unworked to allow for the blending.
Dragged Background on sample board
Remember to keep the background light for quarter sawn and rift sawn oak by applying glaze thinly and stretching it out before dragging
Pre-Mixed Glazes
If you don't want to tint a glaze, or feel that it is too hard to do, you can use a pre-mixed glaze. Old Masters brand is a favorite of mine. Just take note that Old Masters Glaze (called "Wiping Stain" is an oil glaze, which is both good and bad depending on your view of things. Oil glaze takes longer to dry, which allows for longer "open time" to work the graining before it starts to set up. But, the long dry makes it impossible to do two layers in one day. Also note, that oil glaze soaked rags are a fire hazard.
The Old Masters glazes can be intermixed with each other to create other custom colors.See side bar to view Old Masters color card.
Allow the under graining to dry 24 - 48 hours at a minimum before doing the primary graining
Glaze Color
Base Coat Color
ORS-1
- pull the medium comb straight through the glaze from top to bottom
- pull the fine comb from 11 o'clock down to 5 o'clock but not in a absolute straight line but in a meandering way.
OQS--2
- pull the fine comb slightly off of 12 o'clock
- pull the fine comb straight down at 12 o' clock
OQS--1
- pull the fine comb is random short "s" patterns all over the board.
- Then make your final pulls again with the fine comb at 12 o'clock to 6 o'clock with a little bit of meandering on the way.
OQS--3
- pull the medium comb straight down at 12 o'clock
- pull the fine comb straight down at 12 o'clock (but hold comb at 45 degree angle)
- pull the fine comb at 11 o'clock
ORS-2
- pull the medium comb straight down at 12 o'clock
- pull the course comb at 10 o'clock
- pull the medium comb at 12 o'clock but in a wavy "snaking" motion
- pull the fine comb from 11 o'clock down to 5 o'clock but not in a absolute straight line but in a meandering way.
OPLS-1
- pull the course comb straight through the glaze from top to bottom at 12 o'clock
- pull the fine comb from 11 o'clock down to 5 o'clock to serrate the grain.
Steel Combs
Wood graining steel comb sets come with fine, medium, and course teeth, and in four different widths (1", 2", 3", 4")
Not all steel combs sets are alike
My favorite steel comb sets are made by Whistler and Embee (You may not be able to find Embee combs anymore), Other manufacturers are: Symphony (Purdy), and Advance Tool Co.
The following recipes are produced with Whistler and Embee combs. You may be able to produce the wood grain samples with just the Whistler set alone - try it and see. This is by no means a complete listing of oak rift and quarter sawn graining which can be done with steel combing. I encourage you to experiment and catalog other graining "patterns". I think the variety is endless with a little imagination and a set or two of different combs.
Click on the samples to enlarge
There are various methods for cutting quartered oak. Each of the four quarters of the top log picture four different methods
Methods of Sawing Oak
to make boards
Quatersawn Oak
the log is first cut into four quarters then the boards are cut from the quarters.
Rift Sawn Oak
boards are cut directly into the center of the log. Rift sawn grain is straight without medullary rays
Methods of sawing quartered logs
Plain Sawn Oak
boards are made by cutting straight through the log.
taken from "Hand Work in Wood" - William Noyes 1910
taken from "Hand Work in Wood" - William Noyes 1910
Log-Carriage, holding quartered log in position to saw
Fast Dry Base Coating
The base coat is the beginning of the wood grain process and serves as the background for your wood graining. For the most part, I use nothing but quick drying primers for base coats. Ideally you want a base coat that you can grain over the same day, which will expedite the job along.. The base coat / primers that I use for fast graining are: Zinsser’s Bullseye 123, which is a latex primer, B-I-N pigmented shellac - depending on the surface that is being base coated, and which graining glaze I am using. These primers are tinted for the purpose of base coating.
Base coats can be applied with a roller on large areas but should always be “laid off” with a brush in the direction of the wood grain. A roller stippled base coat under your graining will make it look as fake as a three dollar bill , so always lay off (smooth it out with the tips of a brush) the base coat if you choose to roll it on.
Base coat and glaze systems
My preferred woodgraining glaze is the Modern Masters (latex) Tintable Glaze. You should base coat with Zinsser’s Bullseye 123 if using the MM Tintable Glaze. Should you need more working time, you may want to use an oil based glaze. Additionally, if you don't want to tint the glaze, but would prefer to use a premixed glaze, I would recommend using the Old Masters (oil) Wiping Stain, which comes in several premixed colors. For ribbon mahogany, you would use a mix of Provincial and Dark Walnut to arrive at your final glaze color. When using oil glaze, you can (should) use B-I-N as your base coat - unless the surface you are graining is not suitable for shellac primer. B-I-N is somewhat brittle and is not suitable for surfaces that flex. See B-I-N label and/or product data page for further details concerning product use.
