Hide Grain

[John Nordyke]

I have started playing with spraying tinted lacquer on the exterior of bowls, leaving the interior with a oil finish so they are 'pretty' but still utility bowls.

Several of the bowls are white oak, and although for some colors I like the look of an opaque film with the grain telegraphing through, I'd like some to be perfectly opaque. Even after multiple clear coats before toning with the tinted lacquer, the grain still is apparent. I'm looking for suggestions on how best to completely hide even pronounced grain on the exterior of these white oak bowls.

JN

[John TenEyck]

Grain filler, sealer, and paint or opaque lacquer.

John

[Edward Dyas]

Use a pastewood grain filler. It's like a thinned down wood putty you brush on, let it thicken and then rub off the excess with a coarse cloth. When it dries it often has a light haze on the surface which can be sanded off with fine sandpaper and it's ready for stain and finish. Most of them come in a natural color but can be tinted with a universal tinting color to the color you want. Not tinted it would look like a bunch of blond streaks in the grain. There is also places you can get a grain filler already tinted. I use this one. https://www.woodshopproducts.com/pro...iAAEgKPuvD_BwE

One other note when using a grain filler and using lacquer as a finish, the solvents in lacquer will make the dried grain filler swell up out of the grain. If you put a coat of lacquer on and sand between coats in an hour the lacquer will be very thin on the filler. Then you put another coat of lacquer on and it will swell up more. You sand between coats and you start sanding the filler off. After several coats the project looks great and you think you are done. Then the next day when the grain filler shrinks back down the project looks grainy like you didn't use a grain filler. You can spray as much lacquer as you need to in a day but let it dry at least overnight before doing any sanding and you won't get this phenomenon.