Graining, Special Technique to Make the Wood Look

"Graining" is a finishing technique to mimic and make the wood grain look. The wood grain and pores can be made by the application of stain or glaze with the special technique. Graining can be done manually by applying a stain with a brush or cloth. In large-volume production, the graining can be done with an automatic machine that is called a rotogravure machine (printing machine). Graining is done in a mass industry, carried out by printing technique using an automatic machine. The automatic machine is the basic machine for the production of decorative paper, wall paneling, decorative hardboard, m.d.f., or particle board panels. Natural grain and pores are wood parts that give high value of the wood product but sometimes bring variation in the appearances. Wood is a natural product that could have varied properties. Graining in the finishing process could be the alternative to making the wood look in the finishing to the flat surface that has no grain or pores as wood.

The graining in the furniture finishing usually is done with the glaze or wiping stain with brushing application. The glaze can be brushed with a special technique to mimic the grains, pores, or wood look. We can make the wood look finished on the non-wood substrates, such as MDF, particle board, resin, and polyurethane, to make the wood look finished.  It also can be the solution to make the wood finish the mixed wood, which has a big variation in the wood base color, grain pattern, or pores. We can apply a toner or base coat to block the variation in the wood base color, grain and pores pattern to make the even and uniform base color, and then the wood looks are made by the glaze application. 

graining on the base coat

graining on the toner or thin base coat

Here is the process of graining in the finishing

• The preparation of the surface.

The graining with glaze needs a smooth surface. The rough surface will hold the stain and make an uneven layer of the stain, resulting in the uneven color. At the wood finishing, we can apply the wiping stain for graining over the sealer, base coat, or toner. The base coat or toner can be applied as the first step to block the uneven color of the wood substrate to produce the even base color. Toner is the stain with some clear coat inside, then it will block the wood base color but will leave the grain and pores texture. It can also be used to make the light color to the dark wood color. While the base coat has a higher solid content and could cover the pores and grain. The base coat generally gives more plain and even surfaces without any pores or grain pattern. The MDF, resin, or particle board particle usually already has an even and smooth surface, and we may be able to apply the glaze directly to the substrates. But it is still recommended to coat the substrates with sealer, toner, or base coat to make better adhesion.

• The preparation of the glaze or wiping stain.

There are some things that need to be considered in the glaze preparation. The first is the glaze color. Make sure the glaze has the proper color. Consider that the final color is a combination of the color of the base coat, toner, or substrate underneath and the glaze applied to it. Make sure the color combination between them gives the right final finishing color.

The second thing is about the drying time of the glaze. Usually the brushing application takes a long time, especially when we have to make a special pattern. Set the drying time of the glaze to accommodate the application. We may add some retarder to the glaze to let it slowly dry. 

• The graining techniques.

brushing the glaze

We need the proper brush to get the proper effect. If we want the smooth and even grain look, then we can choose the brush with a thick head and fine hair. But if the rough graining is needed, we can use the rough and sticky hairbrush.

Layer the glaze to the surface evenly, then stroke the brush from one end to the other. There are many effects that can be made according to the thickness of the wiping stain, brushing techniques, and the brush used. Make the grain look as needed. Do practice on a small panel to see the grain effect we need.

steelwool to lighten the glaze

Once the application is complete, let the wiping stain dry. Check the grain result to make sure we got the result we needed. We can wipe with steel wool if the glaze is to strong or add some more glaze if necessary. 

• Application of sealer or top coat.

The clear coating application is needed to protect the grain and pores effect resulted by the glaze. Make sure that the glaze is completely dry before we apply the coat of sealer or top coat on it. As the first coat, apply a thin sealer or top coat with dry spray or medium dry spray. Let it dry for awhile, then continue with the wet coat application. The direct wet coat on a thick glaze or wiping stain is risky to get sagging problems.

Let the sealer dry, then do a good sanding on the dry sealer. Then apply a layer of wet coat of top coat as the final finishing layer.