Help reducing contrast on dark grain in oak worktops (pics in thread)

[miguel_s]

Hi there,

I'm starting to finish my kitchen worktops which are a rustic oak. The finish we want is a slightly chalky/low saturated dark finish, more on the cooler side of dark brown. So nothing too warm and chocolate-y on the orange side.

The recipe I liked on the test pieces was as follows:
- Sand to 180 grit
- Raise the grain with sponged-on water
- Light sand raised grain with 220 pad
- Rubio Authentic aging stain applied with a sponge
- Light said again with 220 on raised grain
- Osmo Top Oil in the Terra colour

However, seeing it on the whole worktop, we overall like the colour and feel but the contrast of the dark grain stripes is just too pronounced in places, especially the cathedral grain rings. It just becomes a bit distracting on such a large surface, especially if it's on several worktops in a small-ish room.

I have a photo of what it looks like with just the Rubio Authentic Aging, which we actually quite like:

And a different worktop after adding one coat of Osmo Top Oil Terra:

As you can see, the dark striping just becomes a bit loud and distracting - kind of just want it to look more understated like it did with just the stain. It feels a bit more like a modern cheap effect rather than a naturally aged and faded piece of oak.

I don't mind sanding it all back to bare wood and trying something else entirely, but I'd love advice on what I should try? Here's a list of things I've been reading about:

- Gel wood stain seems to create a more even finish as it doesn't penetrate the wood grain as much as liquid stain. Although it doesn't seem to be sold in the UK?
- Spirit based dye, I read it can be a more even finish again as it doesn't penetrate into the pores as much, is this true?
- Wet sanding in some kind of slurry - not a ton of info out there in how it relates to my problem.
- Grain/pore filler, although I don't necessarily want a glassy smooth finish, quite like feeling the character of the wood

Ultimately we even quite like the look of just the authentic aging - although I'm keen to try a pre stain conditioner to avoid uneven absorption as seen in the first photo.

Appreciate any advice!

 

[Agent_zed]

Something I've done after reading it somewhere is to use whitespirit before the stain. the idea being that the most porous bits of wood will hold more whitespirit and prevent the stain absorbing quite as much as it would otherwise.

You could try on an offcut and see whether that works for you

 

[profchris]

Your problem is that the figure, which is end grain, absorbs more stain, and its darkness is enhanced by the finish (which is also absorbed more by end grain).

I'd suggest taking an offcut and applying one or two wiped on coats of shellac. Then apply your stain, then the finish. This should reduce the contrast. If you don't have shellac, wipe on a thin coat of your finish instead and let it dry (thin because you don't want it to soak into the end grain of the figure), then stain, then finish top coats. Shellac is best though because it dries in minutes, not days, and so sinks in least.

You might also try applying a moderate coat of finish and then wet sanding - doing this once will partially fill the pores but still leave you with some texture. Once dry, sand, stain and top coat.

Getting the look you want will be a matter of trial and error, I think, which is why practising on offcuts is a good idea.