Red oak-need grain contrast-waterborne?

[Clisby Clark]

I've been commissioned to build a gun cabinet for a customer who wants a very pronounced "grainy" look with sharp contrasts between the grain and the field of the piece. I think that flat sawn red oak will be the route to go. I am set up for spraying waterbornes and have a decent stock of Target products on hand, but I've heard red oak is very touchy when it comes to waterbornes. Here are my questions to you, the experts:

1. Is there a relatively safe way to get this look with waterbornes?

2. If not, how would you approach this with solvent finishes?

3. Any other advice for finishing red oak?

One other thing...as always, the budget is kind of tight on this one (hence the desire to use my Target stuff) so I want to keep the number of finishing products I need to buy on the low side.

Thanks

[Steve Jenkins]

The simplest way to really accentuate the grain on red oak is to finsh sand with 320 which will sort of burnish the wood then use an oil stain. It won't soak into the surface but will get into the deeper grain. the darker the stain the bigger the contrast. Typically I only sand red oak to 150 to get the stain more even. I can't speak to waterborne finishes as I don't use them.

[Jamie Buxton]

I'd use a pigmented stain -- the kind you get at the big box stores -- wiped on. The wiping action pushes most of the pigment in the pores, and really accentuates the grain. You can use either a waterborne or solvent-borne stain. Just let it dry before you overcoat it with your sprayed waterborne clear. Make test pieces before you tackle the real thing.

Consistent color depends on consistent sanding. Use the same grade of sandpaper everywhere.

[TK Donovan]

I use Target and Chemcraft waterborne products exclusively in my cabinetry and furniture. I've used Target's water reducible toners for a "traditional" stain look where the open grain holds onto the stain better than the tight surfaces. I've also used Old Masters wiping stain for a heavily pigmented look. Sometimes I use a 50% finish/50% water sealer before the stain to control the effect. For a more consistent coloration - or used in combination with the stain, I used the WB shellac. Just be careful sanding it because it's easy to sand through.

With a grainy wood like oak, it's easy to have the finish build differently across the work. Most of the time I try to minimize that by sanding several coats of top coat or WB shellac to flatten the surface. When I'm coloring the work, like "ebonizing", I've actually exaggerated the graininess by letting the finish build more on the tight grain. I use a dull sanding pad to smooth the finish but not cut into surface too much. Not sure that's where you want to go on this project, but it's a different way to exaggerate the grain without the pigmented pores look.