I’m going to show you how to bring out the grain in this beautiful frame and if you find anything which is really oaky and got a strong grain to it, then this is the method to do it. The look I was going for was like what you see at Ballard Designs. That white grain look on a stained piece of furniture. After trying a few products, I found THE BEST and easiest way to achieve that limed oak look. Liming Wax Since pine is a softwood with a closed grain, the liming wax may not work as well on pinewood. The liming wax may wash out the pine’s grains altogether, making the layer of liming wax look dull and messy, which defeats the purpose of the liming wax altogether.

Prepare the Wood: Start by ensuring the wood surface is clean, dry, and free from old finishes. Use a mild detergent or wood cleaner to remove dirt and oil. Rinse thoroughly and allow it to dry completely before proceeding. What it will do is slightly darken the surface so you can “test” to see how dark the color will be once it dries. At that point, you can either decide to darken the dye by layering on a more concentrated color or you can lighten the dye by wiping it off with a wet towel. That’s a lot of flexibility right there! It may be helpful to test the liming wax on a small swatch of pinewood first. Since there are a few varieties of pinewood, the liming wax may show up differently, and you will be able to use liming wax with pinewood without the additional steps. How To Use Liming Wax On Pinewood – Step By StepYou can also use painters tape. But be sure to use some space between the samples so they don’t bleed. Round 2 of stripping, if needed.After you’ve scraped all the stripper and old stain/paint/varnish off, reapply the stripper ifareas need some more scraping. Paint furniture with loose strokes, rubbing it in with the grain as you go. So, paintbrush in one hand and rag in the other. I actually made the mistake of going lighter with the stain here, probably using a 1:3 mix of Provincial vs Ipswitch Pine but that’s because I fundamentally misunderstood something about the liming wax. Lime is a bleaching agent. I’ll get there in a bit, but I should have gone with my tried and true formula here. I decided to test out the Grey and Ebony on my sample board to see which one I may want to use for my DIY bathroom vanity.

So the very first thing you need to know for the project is what the base color you are looking for. I was going for an aged pine look with the liming wax adding even further age to the overall appearance. Starting off with raw pine, it looked anything but aged. I am not afraid of hard work, but I have never stripped a piece of furniture. I have never heard of it being easy or going well. For whatever reason, I thought it would be different for me. So, I started stripping the smallest table. First I SandedBut the reason you’d want to mix it more concentrated is that you can always later add water to lighten it to the exact shade you want. It might be helpful to have another tarp to put down at this point. The first tarp gets pretty gross from the stripping process! At that point, you’ll want to place another set of pencil markings and use the 180-grit sandpaper (which is finer) until you can’t see the markings anymore. Open Wood Grain: To allow liming wax to penetrate deeply, you need to open the wood grain. Using your brush or coarse sandpaper, gently brush along the grain until the texture feels slightly rough.

I ended up adding more powdered dye, but honestly, I still don’t think it was as concentrated as it could have beenbecause it went on lighter than I expected. Buff the Surface: Following the removal of excess product, buff the surface to reveal the beautiful, whitened grain. Buffing also gives the wood a gentle, satiny sheen, enhancing its aesthetic appeal. Raising the grain is also a useful step when you want to stain pinewood and use liming wax with pine. This extra step will help the grains catch the liming wax better when the wax is applied, which will allow the natural grain to shine through the layer of liming wax. The reason I’m using Red Oak is because it has an open pores that make it perfect for accenting grain!

Things You Need to Know

A significant oversight is neglecting to seal liming wax after application. A clear wax or sealant can create a more durable finish, protecting the lime wax and enhancing the project’s overall appearance. Not removing excess product or skipping the buffing step with a soft, dry cloth can also compromise the finished look. If wax remains on the surface, it can appear cloudy or uneven. It’s essential to wipe off the surplus product with a clean, damp cloth, ensuring a consistent finish. To apply sealant: Allow the wax to cure for a few days, then give it a light sanding with fine sandpaper. Using a lint-free cloth apply wipe-on poly with the grain of the wood and allow to dry completely. For added durability,multiple coats can be added; lightly sand with fine grit sandpaper between coats. Clean the Surface: Once you have an open grain, wipe the surface with a clean cloth to remove any loose dust or debris. This ensures a smooth, clean base for applying the liming wax. If the color is too deep or intense on your wood, you can always wipe it with a wet cloth and instantly lighten it up ( you can’t change the color of pigments stains very much once you’ve applied them). This is the good thing about water-based dyes: they dry more slowly, so you have more room to change their color or intensity.

Since this was my first time experimenting with wood dyes, the difference was so clear when I saw that the wood dyes didn’t obscure the grain of the wood. The book recommended cutting small kerfs (a kerf is a slit made from cutting) into your sample board to keep the samples separate from one another. This prevents the dyes from soaking into each other. It’s totally optionalbut very helpful.Use a clean towel to wipe the water off, and then let it dry about 30 minutes or so, or longer if the wood still looks wet. I monogramed my initials on the front out of aluminum sheet metal, too, which gives this wood chest a personal touch. If you can believe it, hubby said he actually likes this project (if you have known him, he tends to not really care much about my projects, LOL). But this project–he says I should have put his initials because he wants it. That’s a promising sign that I did something right!