Pale French Oak - Experienced Person Please!

MrsRenovator

MrsRenovator

Joined
13 Oct 2007
Messages
175
Reaction score
7
Location
Flintshire
Country
United Kingdom
I know the fashion is for pale/nude oak, but I love the golden brown of British character oak!

So, I need the voice of experience please...

I have two new sanded french oak boards. I usually use tung oil. The test result is very pale and light, a touch greyish, not really bringing the wood to life.

So I'm considering a spirit based stain.
All my online research has shown results of people staining pine to look like oak, rather than French Oak to look like British oak.

Can you recommend any stain/dye that you've found to be successful please?

Thanks
 
spirit based stain will work -basically you just need to choose a colour which darkens down the timber a tad

my guess is you need a light oak stain -but that can vary from a brown to an orange tinge

the problem with stain is you have to spread it very fast to keep a wet edge -the best way to do it really by hand is to use a rag made pretty wet with stain, wipe all over, then wipe off with a clean white cotton rag
 
Thanks.
Yes I am a bit afraid of turning it yellow or orange.

At least I can experiment on the underside to some degree

The Liberon spirit dye light oak looks very yellow. Rustins light oak has a review on Amazon warning that it goes orange.

This could be a very costly mistake if I'm uncertain.

In general, how does spirit dye react with hardwood compared with pine/softwood? Less absorbent or more?
 
Rustins do a large variety of colours.
The only way to find what you want is to buy different shades and test them.
 
Is Rubio Monocoat worth trying? Anyone recommend it?

It seems easier to apply without overlaps.
The finished shelf will be in a bathroom.
 
And I should have added with that final question....
Spirit based stain on hardwood, where does it affect the most? The darker grain pattern? Or does it absorb more into the lighter fibres of the wood?
 
MrsRenovator said:
And I should have added with that final question....
Spirit based stain on hardwood, where does it affect the most? The darker grain pattern? Or does it absorb more into the lighter fibres of the wood?
Click to expand...
The wood shades will remain, so darker parts will always be darker after staining, you won't get a uniform colour like when you paint wood.
 
I just looked at some hardwood I dyed and varnished. The dye emphasises the existing grain, it soaks into the denser wood less, and looking at mine I think it is the paler wood that is still paler, but I didn't take a pic of it before staining.

"going orange" is what some softwoods do, for example pine floorboards, as they oxidise. And some older varnishes yellow with age. It is not the wood dye going orange.

I use spirit based dyes such as Rustins and Blackfriars, but Wilko own-brand (doubtless made for them by one of the big factories) is very good value and you can order the full range online. Colron now make water based "refined" dyes which are very bad.

I apply it with a 50mm soft, natural-bristle painbrush, which is very fast work. Brush it out well to avoid any pooling or thick patches.

You can mix different shades together if you want. They are just combinations of red, brown, black and yellow colours. I do it if I want to hide a joint between two boards that don't quite match, or to emphasise board differences to give the appearance of a random mix. You can also add fake graining with a small, barely-damp artists camel brush, in a darker colour, after the lighter base coat has fully dried (this prevents the colour running). This needs a bit of practice on scrap. Quartar sawn English oak has some narrow black lines in it, and medullary rays, which I can't fake as they are paler and against the grain. You might be able to do them using a wax or oil resist before dying. I think it would not be easy. Some imported oaks do not have them.

You wil need a water-resistant non-yellowing varnish. I use Diamond Matt or Satin floor varnish, which shrugs off bathroom spills and splashes. You can use wax if you like, but it is not water resistant and will mark. Oak is traditionally oiled and waxed and goes very dark.
 
Last edited:
I watched a YouTube video where he stained quartersawn oak and the 'fleck' o'r 'ray' didn't take the stain because it was denser. So dyeing the oak actually enhanced the grain by absorbing into the main fibres and leaving the fleck untouched..More of a contrast.

With my oak, I have no idea which parts are the most dense and which are most absorbent yet.

Here is a piece of oak I recently coated in pure tung oil (well, quick drying, so actually not pure, but no yellowing linseed in it). It's beautiful. And also French Oak. But it had been air dried and open to the elements. I love it.
 

Attachments

  • 20220128_161315.jpg
    20220128_161315.jpg
    291.6 KB · Views: 97
Light oak dye mixed with danish oil is easy to wipe on and very difficult to get a poor result . Try on underside first . Mixing with danish oil reduces dye by about 50-60% so use a medium oak dye if you want a light oak finish .
 
good value spirit dyes

I like to dye the wood before applying varnish or stain, then, if the finish is worn, scuffed or scratched, there is a good chance you will not need to mix a coloured finish to match the damage.

That's also why I don't like tinted varnishes or stains, the colour gets deeper where the finish is thicker, so it shows up laps and wear.
 
Last edited:
Update: I got a couple of samples of Rubio Monocoat. Interesting results.
I tried Oak, which is olive green on the cloth. It picked up the thin grain lines and made them brown. Less so on the other fibres.
Smoked Oak is a lighter greyish green in the bottle. On the oak it appears as as a muted foggy mid to light oak.

I tried a bit of raw linseed, because that has a yellowing effect, and while it reddened the thin grain, the other fibres were slightly warmed.

This whole staining thing is very subjective. It not only depends on what you like, and what the wood is like, but also on the direction of light in the finished room. In a north facing room is sucks all the yellow out of it. No wonder this is so difficult!

I think companies should sell 5ml samples cheaply for us to be able to test!
 
Yes, they sell them. But not cheaply.

If 5ml sachets were posted as a 2nd class letter and cost a £1, we would try many more finishes.

Failing that, our local recycling depot is a good source of 'tester pots'.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top