Using a lumber to look like White Oak

[andrew whicker]

Hi,

Is there a good (cheaper) wood to use to create a color like white oak via staining? (Probably not worth it after labor to stain anyway, but thought I would ask)

[Jim Becker]

You could certainly use dyes, etc., to emulate the tone of a specific piece of white oak, but you'd want to choose a species that's going to provide a similar open grain pattern. I say a "specific piece of white oak", because there's no one "white oak color". Target species for mimicking might include ash or bleached red oak and both of those would at least be similar in weight and strength.

[John TenEyck]

If you want the final color to be the same as white oak then you will be very limited in options. I can't think of anything besides white ash, as Jim mentioned. It has a sort of similar grain and pore structure, and it's lighter so it could be dyed/stained to emulate WO. Red oak is too pink, so you likely would have to bleach it first, also as Jim said. After all that work, you might better have just used WO to begin with.

How much is your time worth?


John

[Michael Burnside]

I've used Red Oak with Rubio Monocoat mint pre-color followed by Rubio Cotton White to look like White Oak. It went quite well actually. The mint removes the tint within the red oak.

Other woods I don't know.

[Stan Calow]

I've also used red oak to make some repairs to old white oak furniture. Careful selection will get you close.

[andrew whicker]

Interesting...

I didn't think two coats of Rubio was acceptable. I've done it before when I had to fix some problems, but the product didn't seem to happy about it. How long did you let Rubio dry before the 2nd coat?

I've used Red Oak with Rubio Monocoat mint pre-color followed by Rubio Cotton White to look like White Oak. It went quite well actually. The mint removes the tint within the red oak.

Other woods I don't know.

[andrew whicker]

If you want the final color to be the same as white oak then you will be very limited in options. I can't think of anything besides white ash, as Jim mentioned. It has a sort of similar grain and pore structure, and it's lighter so it could be dyed/stained to emulate WO. Red oak is too pink, so you likely would have to bleach it first, also as Jim said. After all that work, you might better have just used WO to begin with.

How much is your time worth?


John

Thanks much (and Jim). Yeah, I would be adding the cost to the job and I think it ultimately would be more expensive to the customer than just using white oak. It's for a fairly straight forward railing. The cost of the white oak isn't much compared to the total cost.

[Michael Burnside]

Interesting...

I didn't think two coats of Rubio was acceptable. I've done it before when I had to fix some problems, but the product didn't seem to happy about it. How long did you let Rubio dry before the 2nd coat?

It's not two treatments, it's a pre-color application of mint before the actual two-part is applied. It only takes a few hours to dry, just test first! You can pull off some amazing looks. The pre-color black with mist looks amazing for a very modern look on red oak.

Take a look here Andrew: https://www.rubiomonocoatusa.com/col.../precolor-easy

[andrew whicker]

Thanks much!

Do you have photos of some these colors you've tried? Sounds cool

[Jim Becker]

I didn't think two coats of Rubio was acceptable. I've done it before when I had to fix some problems, but the product didn't seem to happy about it. How long did you let Rubio dry before the 2nd coat?

While Michael clarified what his process was, there's no issue with doing two coats of Rubio Monocoat, even though the word "Monocoat" indicates it's not necessary. Many folks do two to get a slightly more noticable sheen. I did that with the two tables I made my daughter not long ago. Curing overnight is just fine; rub out with synthetic pad to remove any nubbies or other defects, clean thoroughly and then do your second application followed by the normal "finishing the finish".

Rubio does have a new "higher sheen" product that can be used as an alternative to the 2C now.

[Michael Burnside]

Agreed Jim. I didn't want to mention that to confuse the question, but I often use two coats on table tops, waiting 24 hours between applications. The important part is not to over do the second coat or it will not look like a consistent. That's why I only do it on table tops, where it's easy to do. A complex furniture piece is a lot harder to do without looking like poo. And, quite honestly, IMHO it isn't needed anyway.

[Mark Gibney]

Andrew, I regularly fume red oak with ammonia and it can make it look more like white oak than before. I'll try to dig out some photos.

[Mark Gibney]

Here are two red oak panel glue-ups that I fumed. They are finished with regular (pure) Rubio.
Screenshot 2024-04-19 at 8.11.20 AM.jpg Screenshot 2024-04-19 at 8.11.48 AM.jpg

They don't match white oak, but the fuming gets rid of the pink hues, and moves it a lot closer to WO.

[glenn bradley]

I have used ash in the past to get the "look" of white oak. I felt that the extra effort at getting the color right was not worth the difference in cost. JMHO.