Expert: Jamie Yocono - 8/26/2006

Question
Hi. My husband has been stripping down some old doors and the last layer of paint on all the doors is a thin coat of fake wood grain (look) that covers the knots in the wood. Could you tell us how they did this treatment a long time ago before laminate. Thank you so much. Carol

Answer
Hi Carol,

Your question is somewhat outside my area of expertise, but I do have a little bit of information to share, so I will venture into these waters.

If I remember correctly, there is a 3 step process that was quite popular in the 1970s for finishing wood. It was often used in situation where the wood was of a lower grade, with knots, or unsightly grain matches.

My family bought a house that had kitchen cabinets that were painted that awful avocado color. When the wood was stripped, it was easy to understand why they painted it in the first place. The wood was very poorly selected, and had knots, light and dark stripes, and was hideous. So my parent chose to use that 3 step finish, like the one you've described.

It's been years, but I'll try to do this from memory.  The first coat is an opaque coat, which covers all the imperfections. The color of this can vary, because it depends on the final wood you've chosen to imitate. The second coat was the "wood grain" coat, and it's applied and then wiped, to simulate wood grain. The last coat is simply a clear coat, to protect the first two coats.

I am pretty sure this is what you are dealing with on those old doors. When stripped, you'll see the real wood that the door was made of. If it's ugly, you can understand why someone would want to put this fake wood grain on it.

If you're set on not using this same method, there is a book I can recommend that might offer some suggestions on dealing with your problem. It's called Understanding Wood Finishes by Bob Flexner. This book contains a great deal of information on how to deal with problems such as yours, and it might be helpful to you. It's probably available an any major bookstore, so you might want to browse through it first, to see if you can find anything helpful before buying it.

OK, I hope this helps. Please feel free to write back if you have any further questions after reading this.

Jamie Yocono
Wood It Is! Custom Cabinetry
Las Vegas, NV
www.wooditis.com