Painted quartersawn oak showing flecks?

[gckc117]

So I am trying to figure out the best way to finish these cabinet doors.  They are going to be painted quartersawn oak, and I want to maximize the visibility of the texture, grain and rays through the paint.  Not by having it translucent, but just maximize the contrast in texture so that it telegraphs to the paint surface.  I only have a few to do so I can handle a pretty painstaking process. 

So far I have mocked up some samples by sanding to 220, then soaking the oak, then priming, sanding, and painting a topcoat.

It does work, from an angled side view you can see the rays a bit, and I'm hoping on a larger door it will be pretty visible.

Any ideas?  Looking for the right sequence of sanding/priming/painting.  Anyone done this before?

Graham

 

[Vindingo]

Why paint as opposed to dye or stain? 

I did some shutters a while back out of knotty pine.  I wanted the character to be visible from up close, but appear painted from the street. 

I used a semi-solid deck stain. 

Here is the only photo I could dig up, not sure if that is the effect you are going for. 

 

[mouppe]

Shellac or oil will be your best bets for maximising the texture.

I made a workshop cabinet from ash, oak and cherry- basically all leftovers (!)- and finished it with a gel stain and wax. I could also have used a poly for a more durable finish but it suited my purpose like this.

Unfinished. The drawer fronts are ash, the door frames are cherry, and the door panels are oak!

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Sanded and with a gel stain.

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[fritter63]

Painting QS Oak should be illegal and result in the confiscation of all your tools.

Kinda like putting linoleum over a hardwood floor.

Or using a Porsche to pull an RV.

Or...

 

[jacko9]

Painting QS Oak should be illegal and result in the confiscation of all your tools.

Kinda like putting linoleum over a hardwood floor.

Or using a Porsche to pull an RV.

Or...

+1

 

[jvang]

i so agree, it should be a federal offense to paint quarter sawn anything

so, to answer your question on oak. i have used scrap oak on some painted project. many years ago a painter friend told me what to do old school and have used it on any painted materials. sand, then prime with oil based primer ( i use Zinsser high hide oil base ) if you pray you may need two coats. i then follow with two oil finish coats. if you struggle after primer to not sand hard, i have used a scraper lightly between primers with very light hand sanding.

good luck.

john

 

[gckc117]

Thanks guys.  Yeah I think that deck stain is smart, those semi-solid ones really look like paint.  Just to clarify these are brand new doors I am making, purposefully, in quartersawn, and I am trying to preserve the grain pattern through the paint, not conceal it.  That was the reason for using oak in the first place, the deep, open grain lends itself very well to a painted wood surface.  I'm just trying to make it a little more exciting with the quartersawn. 

I am hoping to use a paint in the end so it will be totally monochrome and only have to wood exposed via the surface texture of the paint.  But I am also running some tests with dyes and I will look for some deck stains in the colors we are thinking of.

 

[MarkF]

How about Liming/Pickled Finish?  You can go with a black dye and Liming wax or just the Liming wax. 
http://www.ornamentalist.net/2010/12/ebony-limed-oak-step-by-step.html     
http://www.homesteadfinishingproducts.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=4948&highlight=pickling+liming