How do you achieve a limed oak finish

[michael]

How do you achieve a limed oak finish? i.e. on floors ,beams and stripped furniture where the oak has streaks of white lime in the grain and an altogether milkier finish? I’m assuming you just paint the oak with a single coat of white limewash but its probably not that simple

 

[biffvernon]

Do that and then scrape the surplus off with a cabinet scraper or somesuch and you just have traces of lime left in the grain.

 

[Flyfisher]

Agreed. In our attic rooms, the exposed beams were all originally limewashed, much of which has crumbled or been washed away by the weather (before I fixed the roof, I hasten to add!). To clean everything up I've started to rub down the beams with a simple wet cloth and it is leaving a wonderful limed oak finish.

 

[Carol]

I used a proprietary coloured wax finish that said it would give "a natural limed wax finish that enhances the beauty of the grain.". This was singularly unsuccessful and impossible to remove despite their claims! It doesn't look that bad but I glare crossly at it every time I visit our bathroom.

Would not recommend this method.

 

[michael]

I’ve never used a cabinet scraper, It sounds a bit harsh. I can visualise shards of timber coming away if the angle of the blade is not right. Would abrasive paper not be sufficient?

 

[biffvernon]

Use a cabinet scraper. Much more reliable to get a perfect finish. The word 'cabinet' is the clue

Like these.

 

[Flyfisher]

I agree that a scraper seems a bit harsh, but then so does abrasive paper to me. I suppose it depends on the eventual finish you're seeking but I'm finding that a simply wet cloth does the trick on my limewashed beams.

Why not get some suitable scraps of wood, limewash them and then experiment with various methods of removing the lime?

 

[biffvernon]

Sorry but that sounds like another whose never experienced the action of a real cabinet scraper. It is NOT harsh.

 

[MdB]

Sorry but that sounds like another whose never experienced the action of a real cabinet scraper. It is NOT harsh.

Well that would include me. Wiki suggests that it isn't the easiest thing to use properly either. I guess I need to find a local expert to give me a demo as it looks like a useful tool.

 

[biffvernon]

A cabinet scraper is about the easiest tool ever to use to good effect. You should also get one of these:

As it says on the box:

Clifton Scraper Burnisher
• Rosewood handle
• Solid brass hilt
• 10mm diameter high speed steel blade
• Raises controlled burr on all cabinet scrapers

And if you don't fancy spending £16.30 on a mere tool, keep it on your mantelpiece and call it a work of art. It is quite beautiful.

The Wiki article is good - except for the line "The main drawback of a card scraper is that the usage is a difficult skill to master". I really think that's wrong. Nice to see the link in the article to luthiers. Cabinet scrapers are the tool for finishing surfaces of lutes and other fine musical instruments so the earlier comments about 'harsh' must be seen to be way off the mark.

 

[Flyfisher]

Biff, you're right that I've never used a cabinet scraper although I'm aware that they can be used to produce a extremely fine finish - and that's precisely what I meant by 'harsh'. Creating a 'musical instrument quality' surface finish on my roof beams would, I think, constitute harsh treatment of the beams and would destroy much of their gnarly character. Hence my suggestion of a simple wet cloth to remove the surplus limewash.

After all, sandblasting beams leaves a very smooth finish. :wink:

 

[Alex F]

Depending on how aged and distress the oak is have often used heavily watered down white emulsion and just sanded it lightly afterwards. This is not liming but it gives a similar rustic effect and is very easy and quick. The older and more battered the wood the better IMO.