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!
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!
