How do I get this finish??

[Chrisyn_95]

Hi Everyone,

I know very little about wood work BUT I want to achieve the same type of finish that this wood has had to it. It's like a black/silver finish that looks awesome, the company I got this sample from said that the wood is poplar but didn't tell me how they got it to look like this, any ideas?

[ian]

is the surface smooth or textured ?

[Arron]

It's a reconstituted veneer. Basically, forestry waste from a cheap, pale timber like poplar is mulched up and then mixed with adhesives and whatever dyes you want (in this case black). The resultant slurry is pressed into layers and then rolled and folded to give the appearance of figured timber.

Google 'reconstituted veneer process' and you will get lots of information and images of the process.

Go to Briggs Veneer website to see the rest to see a range.

Cheers
Arron

[Chrisyn_95]

Cheers for the replies, the surface is smooth. hmmm, the problem is I want that same affect and I've searched around and there doesn't seem to be any finishes that achieve that affect (that I can find)

[ian]

There may be a Japanese lacquering technique that comes close -- sorry I can't help you with a particular name

there are charring and grit blasting and wire brushing techniques that may come close to what you want.

[Xanthorrhoeas]

As ian said, charring and abrading the surface of a suitable ornately figured veneer (or solid timber) will give a distinct definition between the soft and hard parts of the figure.

My wife is an artist and she burns the surface of plywood with a gas flame and then wire brushes it to make the grain & figure more prominent, then she applies printing ink and puts it through a printing press to create beautifully "natural" looking textures to use as end papers and intermediate pages in artists books. The printing 'plate' looks rather like your photo afterwards with the ink remaining primarily in the lower abraded sections of the plywood.

Cheaper, rotary cut veneer plywood can be found with great figure and texture. That is your starting point. If you over-finish with a viscous clear finish you may get a relatively smooth finish.

[Arron]

Is there any reason why you can't get that effect using an ordinary spirit stain from Bunnings, in black (ebony), thinning it down heavily and applying several thin coats stopping when you get the effect you want. It doesn't look anything particularly exotic to me.

The spirit stain well diluted should darken the softer timber between the grain more then the grain.

[Chrisyn_95]

this has been very helpful everyone thank you :), I'll have to do some testing to see what I can achieve with the information given. I'll get back once i've got some sample pictures. Cheers for the help again, super useful

[Chief Tiff]

Looking at it a little closer it does appear to be no more than rotary cut veneer with a very dark stain applied. The timber would have had quite a wild and wavy grain to start with. That Briggs Veneer site that Arron mentions looks interesting; perhaps you could send them the pic and ask them what their closest match is?

[SPF]

Hi Everyone,

I know very little about wood work BUT I want to achieve the same type of finish that this wood has had to it. It's like a black/silver finish that looks awesome, the company I got this sample from said that the wood is poplar but didn't tell me how they got it to look like this, any ideas?

I have used two techniques to get a similar result, but it depends on the timber.

First option is to use a combination of polyurethane and stain/pigment and thin it down by about 20%. Do a rough sand or wire wheel your timber to get the desired grain effect, and then brush the mix on and wet the timber with it. After it has the chance to soak in for about 5 minutes wipe it off with a cloth with thinners/or water depending if you are using oil or water base poly. Finish with more coats of poly. If you do this on greasy timber like many of the plantation pines used for ply, this should work well because the stain will penetrate the end grains, but wipe off the rest and give you the contrast.

The second is better on hardwoods with open grains. Sand or wire wheel the timber to your desired finish. Do a very thinned down stain to give some continuity of colour as per your example. Then use a very thinned down polyurethane and apply it sparingly. Let it dry and then do a sand with 180 grit untill the stain is removed from the the face grain. Blast or scrub the dust out of the end grain (it will be rough) and then restain using undiluted stain. Then finish with poly. This technique tends to darken/colour the face grain more and leaves the end grain with a slight stain but with original hues as well. Be warned, this second option takes a lot of sanding and you should test it to make sure it works as intended for your application. You may also have to wipe some of the stain off the end grain as it will sit on top of the poly.

The second technique can also be used for two different coloured stains on the same piece of timber. The first stain is for your end grains, and the second is for the face grain.

Best of luck with it.