I'm cutting down and changing the color of an old tv armoire. It basically particle board with some kind of sealer. I want to make the top wood color and black on the bottom. This will be perfect with some experimenting. Thanks
I plunged feet first into your turorial, and then trying it out on a 3D printed prop, not really knowing what I was getting into. FANTASTIC RESULT !! I can't share my extreme enthusiasm for finding this very simple, and straight forward technique to 'create' wood finishes. I applied Dark Walnut stain over a butterscotch acrylic base. I am still gobsmacked. Well done.
My grandmother used this same technique in her house about 25yrs ago and I thought she was crazy when she was doing it lol. Her wood trim had been painted so many times she didn't want to strip it all back down so she did this technique and I was surprised how good it turned out.
I just used this technique on the Malm bed from ikea. I wanted a wooden bed on a budget and mission accomplished! I didn’t use spray paint because I did this project in my apartment bedroom and didn’t want paint sprayed all over the walls but the result was amazing. I used a peanut butter ish color base and American chestnut color stain and the result is just magical. And I didn’t have to watch some 30 min long video on how to do it. Now I have a modern wooden bed instead of some basic ikea panels. Thank you so much!!
This is absolutely gorgeous! And this is the best tutorial EVER! The man actually wants to teach something not just show off. I’ve gone through hundreds of “look what I can do” videos that leave out critical information and teach you TWO things; jack and 💩! After watching this one I feel like I can actually do this and be successful!!! THANK YOU!!!
This is a lifesaver. We just moved house and we had this awful plaster coving that we dare not pull down. Turns out with a wood effect it's quite nice. This works a treat. Edit: Should mention we used Khaki as a base and Dark Mahogany as a finish.
Anyone asking about tackiness after a day or two, I might have a solution for you. I used valspar paint with primer in it as my base, a minwax oil-based stain over the top. It was still tacky 3 days later, maybe I used the stain a little thick or whatever but it looked great! It was in a high traffic area on the walls, so I decided to try some spray lacquer on the top of it. That has done the trick! (I used minwax clear aerosol lacquer.) Thanks for a fun technique to use! I will be using it in the future!
In my twenties and thirties, I did quite a lot of this kind of work in media/theatrical/display contexts. Chip brushes, definitely your best friend. Amber (or clear) shellac over MDF is an excellent base. More than a couple of coats will be counterproductive (shellac doesn't like too many coats), but you want it smooth as possible at this point. The next part sounds insane, but working theatrical gold paint (Rosco is what I used) with a little dark green and red analine dye produces a set of iridescent brown tones that you can brush thin--exposing some of the shellac/MDF base--as a second layer. The important thing is to get some natural variation and some iridescence/reflective content underneath. The more motion you get into the layering, the more complexity and depth you can coax out of the final product, as you work on top of a more complex basecoat. You may paint most if it away, eventually, but if you're trying to emulate wood that has a lot of depth, it can really work. Also, don't hesitate to take scissors to the chip brushes, and make specific tools for specific outcomes.
@@terranceroberts6259 Well, it was long before UA-cam was a thing. The trick is to use materials with differing properties. Also, taking scissors to chip brushes, and making grain-tools out of them. If you get a good looking layer, then lock it down with an additional thin coat of shellac. That lets you keep layering without washing away the interesting things you have happening.
@@christianlogerot8376 Yes, for feature films and theatrical productions, mainly, although I did some display and even home-finishing. It was my moonlighting job for years, until I was able to make a living writing music.
Great video and cool technique. For those of you jumping in to do this, read all the comments. Drying of the stain is an issue but it will seal. We just used this technique to great a faux bar for the basement. We started with old standard white home depot drawer cabinet, you know the type. We used to warm Caramel and dark walnut stain. It is very hot and dry in CA right now so stain did mostly dry in 24hrs outside. Was still tacky to the touch. Sprayed a couple coats of Deft Satin clear cover on and now is drying and hard to the touch. May have covered too soon as I am getting some white powdering from the top coat. might have been inevitable given the stain was never going to harden completely. Looks great.
I just bought an old table with the intention of refinishing it only to discover it was all made of real wood..except the top, main part of the table! I was struggling to figure out what to do when I found this video. THANK YOU!!!!! You’ve saved my whole project and I can’t wait to try it!
A little practice with the wood graining tool goes a long way for a thicker grain pattern, but it's easy to make it look fake. You have to keep telling yourself "less is more." A hint of dark walnut with the black and gray looks really good for barnwood. I did a metal filing cabinet that confuses people when it makes metal noises. Use tape and patience to mimic joinery.
Finally, someone who knows the correct (and extremely simple) method of spray painting. Drives me insane watching people stopping and starting half way along the piece they are painting.
I wanted to say, thank you! Over a year later and your video is still inspiring people, namely me! ;-) I have been contemplating refinishing a cheat vanity in a small guest bathroom for over two years! The idea of making the partial board and plywood vanity look like expensive dark wood was a perfect solution. I figured it could be done but I put it off because I have been crazy busy with more pressing matters on the property. With the recent finishing of some major projects, entered into my beatification phase and turn my attention to this vanity! I looked on UA-cam and you video for some help achieving the look I desired! I was astonished by the results you achieved using of the warm caramel Rust-oleum primer and the dark walnut stain, it was part of look I wanted to achieve. I purchased the warm caramel Rust-oleum primer, removed and sanded the vanity cabinet doors and then sprayed them (and later the entire sanded vanity) with the Rust-oleum primer. Next I took a warmer and redder stain, Bombay Mahogany by Minwax to do a base coat. It was far too red but the mirror framing I was looking to match definitely had red in it. Not very happy either with the consistency of the Minwax product or the further color chooses, I purchased a different oil based stain by Varathane, called Jacobean. The consistency, which is much less viscous, the smell, which is less intense, and the coverage was an amazing improvement over Minwax. If all Varathane products are all this good I might never use Minwax again! The combination of the base cost, Minwax Bombay Mahogany, and the second coat, Jacobean Varathane, was surprisingly close to the color of the large mirror frame. Using careful brush strokes I was able to create the look of faux wood grain across the entire vanity, it was quite striking! Unfortunately it was also SUPER glossy even though theses gains were supposed to be Satin finishes. This crazy glossy look was not at all what I desired. I thought about brushing a matte clear coat over all the surfaces but after coming up empty handed finding a brush-able matte finish (gloss, semi-gloss and satin in oil base is the standard now) I was able to purchase a Rust-oleum oil based matte finish spray. This was amazingly ideal, though it smelled terrible and took forever to clear the vapors, it perfectly coated all the surfaces quickly and easily. Less than an hour after spraying the clear coat the surfaces were perfectly dry and sealed! I did some needed painting in the interior of the vanity and the interior doors with high glossy white and the work was done. With new silver hardware, the ugly beige cabinets with the painted over hardware (my ultimate pet peeve!!!) were now elegant, dark wood cabinets with clear silver hardware! Your willingness to both experiment and boldly show it on UA-cam gave me the inspiration to complete a project that has been on my mind for year, I honestly can’t thank you enough! :-)
Evan Hi 👋🏼 I just saw this comment I also have the veneered MDF ? Cabinets and would love to know if you would mind contacting me about how yours is holding up now ? And I would love to see a photo?? I dk if you can PM? Me here or is that only FB? I’m new to UA-cam 😊. If you can reply that would be awesome and much appreciated. Thanks 🙏
Thanks! That was amazing! I've spent hours watching other more complicated videos and I like your simple easy technique the best! No need for a lot of different or expensive products to give a faux grain effect. You did great just by using your paint brush and getting to the point in a short simple video. Thank you, I learned more from your video in a few minutes rather than the lengthy ones.
Yessss.... i can't believe how easy this really is.... sooo many other videos want you to get this and mix half with this... this was fantastic to watch and easy to learn
I did this using warm caramel and dark walnut. Initially I thought it looked great but then as it dried the stain became more solid looking than I liked. A great tip is just to add more stain to the area you want to fix and lightly rub off the stain so that it reveal more of the base coat then lightly reapply your brush strokes. I ended up using a rag to rub off the areas that were too dark but of course the base coat needs to be dry otherwise you will have a swirly mess or Van Gogh you choose... Anyhow project is 80% complete as I do LOVE the look, I need to seal it. I really don't know anything about paint, thank you so much for this video. I have a Farm House vibe I'm looking for in the interior so I cannot wait to try the gray/white.
Thank you!!!!! I've been trying to fix a spot on a table where I over sanded the veneer. This worked perfectly!!!! You can't even tell that I messed up. Yay!!!
This is awesome thanks!!!!! I am turning inexpensive laminate wardrobes into something older and more substantial with lots of trim, appliqués and now this painting/staining technique. 🥰🥰🥰🥰
I've done multiple metal home doors in a faux wood finish. I also used the gel stains as they really ridge up the texture. My application technique does NOT use a brush though. I use a wood grain pattern tool (randomly rocking it to make variations as I drag the length of the "board" I'm making) and then lightly drag it with cheesecloth to soften and flatten the "grain" and blend the coat colors. I like some of your color combos, but I usually use three gel wood colors to add the base and depth that I'm after on metal.
Thanks for the great faux wood grain technique! Tried this on a $50 hutch I bought on Craiglist. First time and I think it turned out quite well. A couple of things to mention are that the technique works best when applied flat and also, since the stain is applied over a painted surface drying time is greatly prolonged. The it took me about a week to finish all sides of the cabinet and another week for full cure.
Thanks, stumbled upon this today. A recent project with faux finish was too light for my wife's tastes. I am emboldened to apply this technique to darken our results! Cheers!
Super excellent 💥 Thank you 🙏 I just bought an older house that needs a little updating the front door is painted a bright green 🥴and since doors are expensive I want to create a dark walnut wood grain look so I purchased a Giani wood grain door kit. Now that I’ve seen this video I realize I can do more with the interior doors and back door!!! WOW
I've been looking all over for a simple way to make my small concrete front porch, look like wood. Everything was involved or, alternatively, very expensive (porcelain tiles). But this method is great. I'll use it to do the porch and then use a glossy protective coating, maybe epoxy. Thanks for this!
It takes hours and hours of experimenting to perfect finishes and in my case years on a particular finish that has become my signature finish. Thanks for sharing your experiments and techniques
This is by far the most helpful how to I've found for this technique. Thank you for experimenting for me! Definitely saved me money, time and the frustration lol
Theme painter for theme parks here. You can also do a black wash technique to build out more colors. Start like how he did. But take a wet cloth and pull some color off. Then add in some lighter colors in the crevices to make it look like wood at theme parks. Still though, the method he showed is like 80% of the theme park quality. For like 1/4 effort. Not bad if you ask me.
Great ideas! I'm putting in a white vinyl picket fence and wanted to soften the appearance of it somewhat but don't want to paint it a solid color. This looks like a great alternative. I especially love the stippling you do on the weathered grey to make it look distressed. Very nice. Thanks for the post!
Just curious how your results came out? I also have a vinyl fence I want to do this technique with but this video didn't use vinyl so I wasn't sure if this technique would work on vinyl.
Planning to refinish the interior of a fiberglass boat and this looks like the simplest way to make it look like wood (apart from peel and stick vinyl, which will be difficult to use given the shape we’re working with). Thanks for the color inspiration too!
This is an excellent idea and far more cost friendly than trying to expoxy the desk I adore and messed up. Thanks to you I may be off the hook. I'll let you know how it turns out 👍🏾
Thank you so much for this! I had some white rental house doors that I use this technique and they turned out really well. The other doors in the house were all dark stain so this matched well.
Thanks for this comment, I was looking to see if anyone had used the technique for doors. I have solid timber doors in an old Victorian house that I have spent ages stripping back, only to find one had been repaired at some point with a coloured bondo 🤦♀️ I'm hoping something like this will work ok & it won't look miss matched against the stain.
I used the stain only on some PVC pipe to make spears for a play. The first coat basically did the same as your paint and kind of stained the PVC. Then I went over that with a thicker coat of stain. I had trouble getting the stain to dry and not smudge. I fixed this by coating it with a rustoleum matte clear.
Thank you! My husband just ruined my table that my grandmother gave me. It's french provincial. I wanted my top stained and I wanted to paint the rest ivory. It looks horrible. Now, thanks to you, I have hope.
Great video… Sounds to me like your descriptions of materials etc. you must be a sign guy…I am or was before I retired. Great career never bored. Often had to check the clock to remind myself to go home.
Very similar to a technique I saw when stripping old furniture. A lot of it seemed to have been done in the 30's to 50's based on the apparent age of the finishes. There would be a coat of what appeared to be beige milk paint with heavily pigmented organic varnish applied over top with various brush techniques. Often it was indistinguishable from actual wood to a casual eye. Neat technique.
I’m really happy that you did a bunch of different materials. I’m making a wooden baseball bat from a plastic for an upcoming cosplay and this was super helpful. Thank you so much!!!
Thinking of doing this to my kitchen countertops. I recently painted them a faux granite look but I really want a butcher block type counter without actually having to replace them.
Thank you SO much! I have a gorgeous piece that was my grandmas and thought for sure it was real wood but it is MDF on top and has no wood grain look. It’s just solid. The drawers however are real wood I believe or they seem to be! They have a beautiful grain pattern. Anyway, I want to paint it white and distress it a bit but I want the top to be darker and stained. Obviously I didn’t think I could do it with no grain patterns since it’s MDF. I want to get this right though because it was my granny’s and I’ll keep it forever. Oh! Also, the darn thing was painted before in a crackle paint. That stuff was impossible to remove. The dresser has many intricate details and cracks and crevices. It has been a tough job sanding it all the way down so I really don’t want to mess it up. I may have to try your technique on something else first to see if I can even do it correctly.
I’ve done a similar method to lighten the orange/red tone mahogany sides on a dresser made of mixed woods. The front was a nice light color when sanded, but the sides would never sand that light due to the types of wood used, so I painted the sides a light earthy color, started blending wood tone paint colors to bring it back into balance with the type of wood on the front, playing with some pale yellow and browns till I had the illusion of grain in the brush strokes and I was very close on the light wood color, then finally I stained over the paint with the light stain used on the front wood just to finish it off with the right tones as reflected in different times-of-day light. It took some time to match it up, but it worked out really well.
I've been doing this for years... all flat latex no oil.... butter color latex brushed on (gives it more grain to start) dry then use latex stain or watered down paint the color you want... brush on , let dry and keep coating and drying(oil stain takes too long to dry and you can achieve same effect with latex) until looks good then coat with POLYCRYLIC (it's water based doesn't yellow)... great look with NO FUMES...
I found if you want to hide a lot of damage or wear just use solid yellow paint with a primer as your base. That will cover any repairs imperfections etc. If you use gloss rough it up with 120 grit, rub in a light layer of dark brown stain to make it "wood'. You can make your "primary" stain level as light or dark as you want with dark stain by rubbing away any excess till you're happy. Can't do that if the stain is too light. Use a cut up cut brush makes your lines.
This guy is great. It's a fantastic how to with great demonstration and delivery. Thanks for your video. It's my all time favorite. What else have ya got?
Hi I've been wanting to make my carbon crossbow bolts and arrows look like wood so do I add primer 1st if so which one ? And then I add whatever selected woody stain color I want ?
I used the spray can clear coat spray it’s lasted about 2 years now plus your able to wipe it down and not damage the paint I made a table top out of it it’s holding up pretty well the legs I didn’t seal with clear coat are fading the top looks brand new so id recommend it 👍🏽
I'm going to use some of your techniques (If not all of your tools) with my oil painting. Thanks! Love the brush techniques for the wood grain! Just what I was looking for!
I like that this video is short, to the point, and he didn't ask for a like, a sub, or to "hit that notification button ". This was informative, helpful and was easy and fun to watch. I did hit subscribe! Thanks for the video!
You would do good to use mineral spirits (white creamy)in your stains because you are not getting enough "slip" along your substrate. You could also lay down a light coat of mineral spirits (Floetrol if you are using waterbased stains) on the entire substrate. Then you can dip your brush in multiple colors (one side one color the other side another color, aka double/triple dipping) and drag your brush along the board. While chip brushes are ok and economical, my favorite brush is equally as cheap and available at Michaels. A three pack of Artist Loft or Craftsmart ORANGE brushes (straight and angled) are MUCH more versatile than simply using a chip.
This is awesome! I need to redo my bedroom furniture and I want the wood grain look. I will definitely have to get some scrap partical board to practice on before I dive in. TYFS!
I recommend "Hardboard" aka "Masonite" for practice panels. Available in single or double-sided, cheap, very smooth, takes primer well, easy to cut, long-term stable, available at home stores, Amazon, arts/crafts shops...
This is a very creative way to use stains, surfaces, colors, finishes, etc. I also liked the different techniques, i.e.-splatters, dots, splotches and so on. Reminds me of investigation methods used in discovering blood drops, lol. Beautiful results sir!
2:10 looks great. Just what I was looking for. I'm going to refurbish my buddy's grandma's old cabinet that is so damaged I need to sand the veneer off. Thanks.
Loving the Bob Ross-esque vignette to change it up a bit. Just saw the finished sign project. This technique seems really promising. Oh, sorry to spam the comment section. Obviously I just found the channel and doing a bit of binge watching.
Quick question for you. How long does it take for the stain to dry? I didn't put it on too heavy but it is still tacky after a day. Any solutions would help. Thanks.
15 foot vintage picnic table. Painted with white fence paint and now going over it with a dark caramel. Wish I could post photos here! I’m going to apply heavy and wipe in straight lines. Wish me luck!! 😂🤘
I love how genuinely excited you are about experimenting! I can so relate and this might just say my latest project! Will be experimenting myself and hopefully adding it to my project!
We're getting a metal adjustable bedframe with our new mattress, and not sure if the legs are removable. I'd like to attach wooden legs instead, but if not, I'm gonna try this technique to make the metal legs look like wood! Thanks!
2 questions: 1. What is the finish of the spray paint? Flat, Semi or Gloss? 2. Does the stain have polyurethane in it or just a stain? Do you have to poly over it?
*Please see the video description before trying this yourself.*
I can’t find the video description? For the colors
So colors what did u land on for the gray? I want to try this. Sound I do grey on grey or sand or which colors did u use?
I cant find the colors sorry
The video description is directly below the video. 👍
Whenever I make anything look like wood, I use an oxygen acetylene torch technique. It looks great.
I'm cutting down and changing the color of an old tv armoire. It basically particle board with some kind of sealer. I want to make the top wood color and black on the bottom. This will be perfect with some experimenting. Thanks
I plunged feet first into your turorial, and then trying it out on a 3D printed prop, not really knowing what I was getting into. FANTASTIC RESULT !! I can't share my extreme enthusiasm for finding this very simple, and straight forward technique to 'create' wood finishes. I applied Dark Walnut stain over a butterscotch acrylic base. I am still gobsmacked. Well done.
I was unaware there are 2 types of stain. I used oil base stain. Will my bathroom vanity ever dry?
Is your vanity dry yet?
Gel stain drys on anything.
My grandmother used this same technique in her house about 25yrs ago and I thought she was crazy when she was doing it lol. Her wood trim had been painted so many times she didn't want to strip it all back down so she did this technique and I was surprised how good it turned out.
I just used this technique on the Malm bed from ikea. I wanted a wooden bed on a budget and mission accomplished! I didn’t use spray paint because I did this project in my apartment bedroom and didn’t want paint sprayed all over the walls but the result was amazing. I used a peanut butter ish color base and American chestnut color stain and the result is just magical. And I didn’t have to watch some 30 min long video on how to do it. Now I have a modern wooden bed instead of some basic ikea panels. Thank you so much!!
I’m glad I found this video and your comment cause that’s exactly what I want to do with my ikea bed 😍. Excited to try.
This is absolutely gorgeous! And this is the best tutorial EVER! The man actually wants to teach something not just show off. I’ve gone through hundreds of “look what I can do” videos that leave out critical information and teach you TWO things; jack and 💩! After watching this one I feel like I can actually do this and be successful!!! THANK YOU!!!
This is a lifesaver. We just moved house and we had this awful plaster coving that we dare not pull down. Turns out with a wood effect it's quite nice. This works a treat.
Edit: Should mention we used Khaki as a base and Dark Mahogany as a finish.
Anyone asking about tackiness after a day or two, I might have a solution for you. I used valspar paint with primer in it as my base, a minwax oil-based stain over the top. It was still tacky 3 days later, maybe I used the stain a little thick or whatever but it looked great! It was in a high traffic area on the walls, so I decided to try some spray lacquer on the top of it. That has done the trick! (I used minwax clear aerosol lacquer.)
Thanks for a fun technique to use! I will be using it in the future!
Hello! Mine came out sticky as well. I’m hoping to give it a couple more days then I will try the spray you used.
I love this. It's inspiring to me, and you seem really like a genuine guy who isn't afraid to make a mistake or do things less than perfect. Thanks.
If you want to start over, wipe with a rag with mineral spirits.
In my twenties and thirties, I did quite a lot of this kind of work in media/theatrical/display contexts. Chip brushes, definitely your best friend. Amber (or clear) shellac over MDF is an excellent base. More than a couple of coats will be counterproductive (shellac doesn't like too many coats), but you want it smooth as possible at this point. The next part sounds insane, but working theatrical gold paint (Rosco is what I used) with a little dark green and red analine dye produces a set of iridescent brown tones that you can brush thin--exposing some of the shellac/MDF base--as a second layer. The important thing is to get some natural variation and some iridescence/reflective content underneath. The more motion you get into the layering, the more complexity and depth you can coax out of the final product, as you work on top of a more complex basecoat. You may paint most if it away, eventually, but if you're trying to emulate wood that has a lot of depth, it can really work. Also, don't hesitate to take scissors to the chip brushes, and make specific tools for specific outcomes.
Is there any reference material in how you do this ? Or videos? Sounds very interesting.
@@terranceroberts6259 Well, it was long before UA-cam was a thing. The trick is to use materials with differing properties. Also, taking scissors to chip brushes, and making grain-tools out of them. If you get a good looking layer, then lock it down with an additional thin coat of shellac. That lets you keep layering without washing away the interesting things you have happening.
Wayyy later but some pretty solid tips were you a set painter?
@@christianlogerot8376 Yes, for feature films and theatrical productions, mainly, although I did some display and even home-finishing. It was my moonlighting job for years, until I was able to make a living writing music.
Scissors to the chip brush! Should have read your tips before posting my previous comment!
Great video and cool technique. For those of you jumping in to do this, read all the comments. Drying of the stain is an issue but it will seal. We just used this technique to great a faux bar for the basement. We started with old standard white home depot drawer cabinet, you know the type. We used to warm Caramel and dark walnut stain. It is very hot and dry in CA right now so stain did mostly dry in 24hrs outside. Was still tacky to the touch. Sprayed a couple coats of Deft Satin clear cover on and now is drying and hard to the touch. May have covered too soon as I am getting some white powdering from the top coat. might have been inevitable given the stain was never going to harden completely. Looks great.
This is exactly what I was looking for. Very old thick wood door that's been Frankensteined and want a stained wood look. Thank you 👍
I just bought an old table with the intention of refinishing it only to discover it was all made of real wood..except the top, main part of the table! I was struggling to figure out what to do when I found this video. THANK YOU!!!!! You’ve saved my whole project and I can’t wait to try it!
It has been 4 years, did you ever get to try it?
A little practice with the wood graining tool goes a long way for a thicker grain pattern, but it's easy to make it look fake. You have to keep telling yourself "less is more." A hint of dark walnut with the black and gray looks really good for barnwood. I did a metal filing cabinet that confuses people when it makes metal noises. Use tape and patience to mimic joinery.
do you have a channel doing this effect? I'd love to see it.
@@ShesThe1yup I don't, but I'd be happy to answer any questions you have.
How I can learn this creativity.
That's rad.... About the filing cabinet
I love how honest he is with is tests “I don’t think that’s going anywhere” 😂
Exactly I'm cracking up
T
For non professional painters might be fine but not for high end projects
Finally, someone who knows the correct (and extremely simple) method of spray painting.
Drives me insane watching people stopping and starting half way along the piece they are painting.
Hi I wanted to make my carbon crossbow bolts into wood colors so I add primer 1st on the shaft then whatever woody stain color next on it !!
I wanted to say, thank you! Over a year later and your video is still inspiring people, namely me! ;-)
I have been contemplating refinishing a cheat vanity in a small guest bathroom for over two years! The idea of making the partial board and plywood vanity look like expensive dark wood was a perfect solution. I figured it could be done but I put it off because I have been crazy busy with more pressing matters on the property. With the recent finishing of some major projects, entered into my beatification phase and turn my attention to this vanity! I looked on UA-cam and you video for some help achieving the look I desired!
I was astonished by the results you achieved using of the warm caramel Rust-oleum primer and the dark walnut stain, it was part of look I wanted to achieve. I purchased the warm caramel Rust-oleum primer, removed and sanded the vanity cabinet doors and then sprayed them (and later the entire sanded vanity) with the Rust-oleum primer. Next I took a warmer and redder stain, Bombay Mahogany by Minwax to do a base coat. It was far too red but the mirror framing I was looking to match definitely had red in it. Not very happy either with the consistency of the Minwax product or the further color chooses, I purchased a different oil based stain by Varathane, called Jacobean. The consistency, which is much less viscous, the smell, which is less intense, and the coverage was an amazing improvement over Minwax. If all Varathane products are all this good I might never use Minwax again!
The combination of the base cost, Minwax Bombay Mahogany, and the second coat, Jacobean Varathane, was surprisingly close to the color of the large mirror frame. Using careful brush strokes I was able to create the look of faux wood grain across the entire vanity, it was quite striking! Unfortunately it was also SUPER glossy even though theses gains were supposed to be Satin finishes. This crazy glossy look was not at all what I desired.
I thought about brushing a matte clear coat over all the surfaces but after coming up empty handed finding a brush-able matte finish (gloss, semi-gloss and satin in oil base is the standard now) I was able to purchase a Rust-oleum oil based matte finish spray. This was amazingly ideal, though it smelled terrible and took forever to clear the vapors, it perfectly coated all the surfaces quickly and easily. Less than an hour after spraying the clear coat the surfaces were perfectly dry and sealed! I did some needed painting in the interior of the vanity and the interior doors with high glossy white and the work was done. With new silver hardware, the ugly beige cabinets with the painted over hardware (my ultimate pet peeve!!!) were now elegant, dark wood cabinets with clear silver hardware!
Your willingness to both experiment and boldly show it on UA-cam gave me the inspiration to complete a project that has been on my mind for year, I honestly can’t thank you enough! :-)
Evan Hi 👋🏼 I just saw this comment I also have the veneered MDF ? Cabinets and would love to know if you would mind contacting me about how yours is holding up now ? And I would love to see a photo?? I dk if you can PM? Me here or is that only FB? I’m new to UA-cam 😊. If you can reply that would be awesome and much appreciated. Thanks 🙏
Thanks!
That was amazing! I've spent hours watching other more complicated videos and I like your simple easy technique the best! No need for a lot of different or expensive products to give a faux grain effect. You did great just by using your paint brush and getting to the point in a short simple video. Thank you, I learned more from your video in a few minutes rather than the lengthy ones.
Yessss.... i can't believe how easy this really is.... sooo many other videos want you to get this and mix half with this... this was fantastic to watch and easy to learn
Ditto!!
I did this using warm caramel and dark walnut. Initially I thought it looked great but then as it dried the stain became more solid looking than I liked. A great tip is just to add more stain to the area you want to fix and lightly rub off the stain so that it reveal more of the base coat then lightly reapply your brush strokes. I ended up using a rag to rub off the areas that were too dark but of course the base coat needs to be dry otherwise you will have a swirly mess or Van Gogh you choose... Anyhow project is 80% complete as I do LOVE the look, I need to seal it. I really don't know anything about paint, thank you so much for this video. I have a Farm House vibe I'm looking for in the interior so I cannot wait to try the gray/white.
I use this technique on a lamp shade and it turned out wonderful! Thank you
Thank you!!!!! I've been trying to fix a spot on a table where I over sanded the veneer. This worked perfectly!!!! You can't even tell that I messed up. Yay!!!
This is awesome thanks!!!!! I am turning inexpensive laminate wardrobes into something older and more substantial with lots of trim, appliqués and now this painting/staining technique. 🥰🥰🥰🥰
I've done multiple metal home doors in a faux wood finish. I also used the gel stains as they really ridge up the texture. My application technique does NOT use a brush though. I use a wood grain pattern tool (randomly rocking it to make variations as I drag the length of the "board" I'm making) and then lightly drag it with cheesecloth to soften and flatten the "grain" and blend the coat colors.
I like some of your color combos, but I usually use three gel wood colors to add the base and depth that I'm after on metal.
This works well with water based stain as well . Dries even faster. Thanks for the video!!
Thanks for the great faux wood grain technique! Tried this on a $50 hutch I bought on Craiglist. First time and I think it turned out quite well. A couple of things to mention are that the technique works best when applied flat and also, since the stain is applied over a painted surface drying time is greatly prolonged. The it took me about a week to finish all sides of the cabinet and another week for full cure.
Maybe Gel Stain would have been better. It will dry on anything.
Yeah, I think the best was the original and I like the grey on grey. Nice tip on the swirl too. Thanks!
I like the swirl too. How about making the tips of the bristles jagged?
Someone used this technic on my outdoor gate. Iv been looking every where to replicate the look. Thank you so so much for this video.
Thanks, stumbled upon this today. A recent project with faux finish was too light for my wife's tastes. I am emboldened to apply this technique to darken our results! Cheers!
Super excellent 💥 Thank you 🙏
I just bought an older house that needs a little updating the front door is painted a bright green 🥴and since doors are expensive I want to create a dark walnut wood grain look so I purchased a Giani wood grain door kit. Now that I’ve seen this video I realize I can do more with the interior doors and back door!!!
WOW
I've been looking all over for a simple way to make my small concrete front porch, look like wood. Everything was involved or, alternatively, very expensive (porcelain tiles). But this method is great. I'll use it to do the porch and then use a glossy protective coating, maybe epoxy. Thanks for this!
Did you use a base coat of masonry floor paint?
I just did this on a shelf and I am in love!! Thank you for the awesome and easy video!!
He's so cool to watch like I feel like if he had a show on tv id so watch it
His passion for sharing makes it so riveting. I'm serious.
He is very likeable, and gets right into the video, instead of blah blah blahing about the history of paint, or some other such nonsense.
It takes hours and hours of experimenting to perfect finishes and in my case years on a particular finish that has become my signature finish. Thanks for sharing your experiments and techniques
How about some tips from your years of work? 😊
This is by far the most helpful how to I've found for this technique. Thank you for experimenting for me! Definitely saved me money, time and the frustration lol
Theme painter for theme parks here.
You can also do a black wash technique to build out more colors. Start like how he did. But take a wet cloth and pull some color off. Then add in some lighter colors in the crevices to make it look like wood at theme parks.
Still though, the method he showed is like 80% of the theme park quality. For like 1/4 effort. Not bad if you ask me.
I found your video while looking for a tutorial on how to make metal doors look like wood. Thanks for the inspiration😊❤
In our little world there are no mistakes just happy accidents.
In that case I'll try hot pink with fluorescent purple color combination first.
🤣😂🤣😂🤣!
Omg I love this saying.....I'm stealing it 😜
Its bob ross if no one is getting the reference ok😢
@@sarahzlife.x yeah
Bob Ross 🎨🖌
Your technique is by far the best technique on you tube. Thank you!
Great ideas! I'm putting in a white vinyl picket fence and wanted to soften the appearance of it somewhat but don't want to paint it a solid color. This looks like a great alternative. I especially love the stippling you do on the weathered grey to make it look distressed. Very nice. Thanks for the post!
Just curious how your results came out? I also have a vinyl fence I want to do this technique with but this video didn't use vinyl so I wasn't sure if this technique would work on vinyl.
@@leanakiddy622 I decided to stay wit the white vinyl. However, I am considering the faux wood treatment for the garage doors when I do them.
Planning to refinish the interior of a fiberglass boat and this looks like the simplest way to make it look like wood (apart from peel and stick vinyl, which will be difficult to use given the shape we’re working with). Thanks for the color inspiration too!
This is an excellent idea and far more cost friendly than trying to expoxy the desk I adore and messed up. Thanks to you I may be off the hook. I'll let you know how it turns out 👍🏾
I want to do a faux wood on my old kitchen countertops. I will experiment. Thank you for demonstrating the different color variations.
i want to do my countertops too..have you tried it yet?
Thank you so much for this easy idea! I just tried and am really impressed with myself!
Thank you for showing so many color combos!
Thank you so much for this! I had some white rental house doors that I use this technique and they turned out really well. The other doors in the house were all dark stain so this matched well.
Thanks for this comment, I was looking to see if anyone had used the technique for doors. I have solid timber doors in an old Victorian house that I have spent ages stripping back, only to find one had been repaired at some point with a coloured bondo 🤦♀️
I'm hoping something like this will work ok & it won't look miss matched against the stain.
Great tips, I’m researching faux finishes for a subwoofer box build, this was very helpful.
I used the stain only on some PVC pipe to make spears for a play. The first coat basically did the same as your paint and kind of stained the PVC. Then I went over that with a thicker coat of stain.
I had trouble getting the stain to dry and not smudge. I fixed this by coating it with a rustoleum matte clear.
I just remembered I also put some deep scratches in the PVC with a wood rasp before I sanded it.
You know, I think I did something similar with some PVC pipe several years ago, but I can't remember what it was for.
Minwax Jacobean stain on top of Rustoleum flat brown was a really good combination. Thx for making this video!
Awesome! I like the dark walnut on top of the warm caramel.
Might just paint my floors today! Thank you so much! Beautiful work
Thank you! My husband just ruined my table that my grandmother gave me. It's french provincial. I wanted my top stained and I wanted to paint the rest ivory. It looks horrible. Now, thanks to you, I have hope.
Great video…
Sounds to me like your descriptions of materials etc. you must be a sign guy…I am or was before I retired. Great career never bored. Often had to check the clock to remind myself to go home.
Very similar to a technique I saw when stripping old furniture. A lot of it seemed to have been done in the 30's to 50's based on the apparent age of the finishes. There would be a coat of what appeared to be beige milk paint with heavily pigmented organic varnish applied over top with various brush techniques. Often it was indistinguishable from actual wood to a casual eye. Neat technique.
I noticed that had been done in an old house to make cheap pine doors look like expensive hardwood.
You are WONDERFUL! I am going to use this on so much!! Thank you!!!!
I’m really happy that you did a bunch of different materials. I’m making a wooden baseball bat from a plastic for an upcoming cosplay and this was super helpful. Thank you so much!!!
This is where home improvement meets art! Great video!
Awesome video! thanks for sharing. can definitely use this on my next house reno!
Thinking of doing this to my kitchen countertops. I recently painted them a faux granite look but I really want a butcher block type counter without actually having to replace them.
This is why I'm here also, any luck thus far?
Thank you SO much! I have a gorgeous piece that was my grandmas and thought for sure it was real wood but it is MDF on top and has no wood grain look. It’s just solid. The drawers however are real wood I believe or they seem to be! They have a beautiful grain pattern. Anyway, I want to paint it white and distress it a bit but I want the top to be darker and stained. Obviously I didn’t think I could do it with no grain patterns since it’s MDF. I want to get this right though because it was my granny’s and I’ll keep it forever.
Oh! Also, the darn thing was painted before in a crackle paint. That stuff was impossible to remove. The dresser has many intricate details and cracks and crevices. It has been a tough job sanding it all the way down so I really don’t want to mess it up. I may have to try your technique on something else first to see if I can even do it correctly.
Bingo! Practice on scraps. I do a lot of painting on cardboard...it's great for that!
I’ve done a similar method to lighten the orange/red tone mahogany sides on a dresser made of mixed woods. The front was a nice light color when sanded, but the sides would never sand that light due to the types of wood used, so I painted the sides a light earthy color, started blending wood tone paint colors to bring it back into balance with the type of wood on the front, playing with some pale yellow and browns till I had the illusion of grain in the brush strokes and I was very close on the light wood color, then finally I stained over the paint with the light stain used on the front wood just to finish it off with the right tones as reflected in different times-of-day light. It took some time to match it up, but it worked out really well.
I've been doing this for years... all flat latex no oil.... butter color latex brushed on (gives it more grain to start) dry then use latex stain or watered down paint the color you want... brush on , let dry and keep coating and drying(oil stain takes too long to dry and you can achieve same effect with latex) until looks good then coat with POLYCRYLIC (it's water based doesn't yellow)... great look with NO FUMES...
leon ausmus, would this work for exterior doors? How many coats do you usually paint?
You got excellent results with your technique, thank you!
i love how the greys turned out, i cant be bothered to removed the grey paint from my stairs so i may mess with black and white stain. Thank you!
Fabulous experiments thanks I’ll be doing a caravan Reno.., I think this technique will come in handy. Thank you!
I found if you want to hide a lot of damage or wear just use solid yellow paint with a primer as your base. That will cover any repairs imperfections etc. If you use gloss rough it up with 120 grit, rub in a light layer of dark brown stain to make it "wood'. You can make your "primary" stain level as light or dark as you want with dark stain by rubbing away any excess till you're happy. Can't do that if the stain is too light. Use a cut up cut brush makes your lines.
Thank You !! I wanted to change my entry door !! you are Awesome !!!
This is EXACTLY what I was looking for!!! I'm trying it this weekend!
Thank you for the various ways to do this, it helps save me time!
This guy is great. It's a fantastic how to with great demonstration and delivery. Thanks for your video. It's my all time favorite. What else have ya got?
Hi I've been wanting to make my carbon crossbow bolts and arrows look like wood so do I add primer 1st if so which one ? And then I add whatever selected woody stain color I want ?
Looks legit! Do we need to seal it?
I used the spray can clear coat spray it’s lasted about 2 years now plus your able to wipe it down and not damage the paint I made a table top out of it it’s holding up pretty well the legs I didn’t seal with clear coat are fading the top looks brand new so id recommend it 👍🏽
I'm going to use some of your techniques (If not all of your tools) with my oil painting. Thanks! Love the brush techniques for the wood grain! Just what I was looking for!
I love the technique, on the foam board thank you for the idea
Make your ownn headboard, 'fireplace', whatever! NICE!
I like that this video is short, to the point, and he didn't ask for a like, a sub, or to "hit that notification button ". This was informative, helpful and was easy and fun to watch. I did hit subscribe! Thanks for the video!
You would do good to use mineral spirits (white creamy)in your stains because you are not getting enough "slip" along your substrate. You could also lay down a light coat of mineral spirits (Floetrol if you are using waterbased stains) on the entire substrate. Then you can dip your brush in multiple colors (one side one color the other side another color, aka double/triple dipping) and drag your brush along the board. While chip brushes are ok and economical, my favorite brush is equally as cheap and available at Michaels. A three pack of Artist Loft or Craftsmart ORANGE brushes (straight and angled) are MUCH more versatile than simply using a chip.
Great job and advice! It worked out very well for me too!! Thank you!!
Will that wood stain stick and be durable on hard plastic?
This is a wonderful solution to a faux wood look that looks authentic.
I used a light grey as base and cherry lacquer it looks so real together. To make it work let it dry and layer it.
This is awesome! I need to redo my bedroom furniture and I want the wood grain look. I will definitely have to get some scrap partical board to practice on before I dive in. TYFS!
I recommend "Hardboard" aka "Masonite" for practice panels. Available in single or double-sided, cheap, very smooth, takes primer well, easy to cut, long-term stable, available at home stores, Amazon, arts/crafts shops...
I like the first sample. Very warm & striking!!
Amazing. I have a metal kitchen table white that I want do this to. I think the walnut on the tan will work. Ty
He makes it look so easy, I promise he is a pro
He showed you how easy it is, just do it.
I am sure that you will be amazed.
I did six metal window frames, now they are PINE!
@@PinePondCTDevilsHopyard-fy3hj so dope! I'm homeless though, not a pot to piss in nor a window to throw it out. Lol
The combination of the two Grays looked pretty good.
Thanks for this! Great info and I love that your style lines up with mine - let's just try stuff until we find something we like!
This is a very creative way to use stains, surfaces, colors, finishes, etc. I also liked the different techniques, i.e.-splatters, dots, splotches and so on. Reminds me of investigation methods used in discovering blood drops, lol. Beautiful results sir!
2:10 looks great. Just what I was looking for. I'm going to refurbish my buddy's grandma's old cabinet that is so damaged I need to sand the veneer off. Thanks.
Thanks mate. Get a tv show. No BS just very interesting and inspiring. Off to sort out some old cheap mdf kitchen stools.
You made it very easy even for beginners. Appritiated. 👍👍
you sir are a true craftsman!
Loving the Bob Ross-esque vignette to change it up a bit. Just saw the finished sign project. This technique seems really promising.
Oh, sorry to spam the comment section. Obviously I just found the channel and doing a bit of binge watching.
Quick question for you. How long does it take for the stain to dry? I didn't put it on too heavy but it is still tacky after a day. Any solutions would help. Thanks.
Awesome video! I am experimenting this week! THANKS!
I'm liking how many tools to do this with... The less the better... 👍👍👍👏👏👏👏👏
15 foot vintage picnic table. Painted with white fence paint and now going over it with a dark caramel. Wish I could post photos here!
I’m going to apply heavy and wipe in straight lines. Wish me luck!! 😂🤘
I love how genuinely excited you are about experimenting! I can so relate and this might just say my latest project! Will be experimenting myself and hopefully adding it to my project!
We're getting a metal adjustable bedframe with our new mattress, and not sure if the legs are removable. I'd like to attach wooden legs instead, but if not, I'm gonna try this technique to make the metal legs look like wood! Thanks!
Very cool Wesley! It was fun to transition from "that just looks like he's putting stain on top of paint" to "oh my gosh! That looks just like wood!"
2 questions: 1. What is the finish of the spray paint? Flat, Semi or Gloss? 2. Does the stain have polyurethane in it or just a stain? Do you have to poly over it?
That looks good! I just made a shoe rack with a combination of kiln+mdf boards and I want it to have the wood finish look. Gonna give it a try!
I am inspired. Fingers crossed that my project goes accordingly.