I originally wanted to rub down, stain & varnish my banisters. However the
paint had soaked too far into the grain to bother and some chunks out of it
needed repairing with filler, which would never stain properly. I therefore
just undercoated it in readiness to gloss with the rest of the staircase in
white.

However, I got thinking that it may look better with a dark gloss paint
instead. Had a quick look around and can't find what I want, though I'm
sure such a thing exists. I want a dark, wood-effect paint with a high
gloss.

Any ideas?




a

"al" wrote in message
. uk...
I originally wanted to rub down, stain & varnish my banisters. However the
paint had soaked too far into the grain to bother and some chunks out of it
needed repairing with filler, which would never stain properly. I
therefore just undercoated it in readiness to gloss with the rest of the
staircase in white.

However, I got thinking that it may look better with a dark gloss paint
instead. Had a quick look around and can't find what I want, though I'm
sure such a thing exists. I want a dark, wood-effect paint with a high
gloss.


They used to do something in the 1920's-30's as a cheapo way to emulate wood
grain and you could still see remains of it about when I were a lad up int'
north. I can't remember what the process is called but you paint dark
brown gloss first, then when it's dry, light brown on top. While the light
colour is still wet, cut through with a comb to expose the dark colour
underneath and give a wood grain effect. Or maybe it was the other way
round.

There's probably a large element of skill involved in getting this to look
right.


john

In article , "al"
says...
I originally wanted to rub down, stain & varnish my banisters. However the
paint had soaked too far into the grain to bother and some chunks out of it
needed repairing with filler, which would never stain properly. I therefore
just undercoated it in readiness to gloss with the rest of the staircase in
white.

However, I got thinking that it may look better with a dark gloss paint
instead. Had a quick look around and can't find what I want, though I'm
sure such a thing exists. I want a dark, wood-effect paint with a high
gloss.

Paint it with a lighter red/yellow/brown colour then apply a dark
scumble glaze and texture it to get the wood-grain effect. Finish
with two or three coats of varnish. Or if you want more of a candy
effect maybe paint it white then apply a couple of coats of tinted
varnish?

In article , "John"
says...

"al" wrote in message
. uk...
I originally wanted to rub down, stain & varnish my banisters. However the
paint had soaked too far into the grain to bother and some chunks out of it
needed repairing with filler, which would never stain properly. I
therefore just undercoated it in readiness to gloss with the rest of the
staircase in white.

However, I got thinking that it may look better with a dark gloss paint
instead. Had a quick look around and can't find what I want, though I'm
sure such a thing exists. I want a dark, wood-effect paint with a high
gloss.


They used to do something in the 1920's-30's as a cheapo way to emulate wood
grain and you could still see remains of it about when I were a lad up int'
north. I can't remember what the process is called but you paint dark
brown gloss first, then when it's dry, light brown on top. While the light
colour is still wet, cut through with a comb to expose the dark colour
underneath and give a wood grain effect. Or maybe it was the other way
round.

There's probably a large element of skill involved in getting this to look
right.

You can get a textured rubber block - you rock it while dragging
across the glaze to get a varied grain effect. In the old days I
think they used to use brushes and combs and it required more skill.

"John" wrote in message
...

"al" wrote in message
. uk...
I originally wanted to rub down, stain & varnish my banisters. However
the
paint had soaked too far into the grain to bother and some chunks out of
it
needed repairing with filler, which would never stain properly. I
therefore just undercoated it in readiness to gloss with the rest of the
staircase in white.

However, I got thinking that it may look better with a dark gloss paint
instead. Had a quick look around and can't find what I want, though I'm
sure such a thing exists. I want a dark, wood-effect paint with a high
gloss.


They used to do something in the 1920's-30's as a cheapo way to emulate
wood
grain and you could still see remains of it about when I were a lad up
int'
north. I can't remember what the process is called but you paint dark
brown gloss first, then when it's dry, light brown on top. While the
light
colour is still wet, cut through with a comb to expose the dark colour
underneath and give a wood grain effect. Or maybe it was the other way
round.

There's probably a large element of skill involved in getting this to look
right.

They do this kit at b&q, was in a warehouse store yesterday and they had a
display up explaining techniques

My father has done this on windows etc over the years and if done properly
it is very very good

Regards Jeff

"Rob Morley" wrote in message
Paint it with a lighter red/yellow/brown colour then apply a dark
scumble glaze and texture it to get the wood-grain effect. Finish
with two or three coats of varnish. Or if you want more of a candy
effect maybe paint it white then apply a couple of coats of tinted
varnish?

All the ideas sound plausible ... though I don't know how well I'd do the
grain combing bit. Might pop down to a specialist paint store and see what
they have to suggest or if they can demonstrate.



a