Wood Grain Demo

Let me pause here for a moment to mention something.  In between steps and while doing the final grain work, I will often wipe off the brushes on a folded coffee filter.  They are lint-free and very absorbent.   Perfect for wiping off paint brushes.  Also, my paint table and spray booth are covered with white Reynolds Freezer paper.  This stuff is great as it is plastic coated lint-free paper.  I lay it down with the plastic side facing the table.  This allows the upper paper surface to absorb paint and thinner while the plastic prevents it from soaking through to the table.

See Pic #12

OK, now time for the sponge chunks.  I take a piece and gently wipe off the excess paint in the direction that I want the grain to go.  It may take several passes to get an even look.  Wipe off the sponge on the trusty coffee filter every couple of swipes.  If I think I've removed too much paint, I just brush on more and start again.  The nice thing about oils is their lengthy work time and they will not attack the Tamiya base coat.

See Pic #13

See Pic #14

Next,  I take a wide "rake" brush and gently do the same thing I did with the sponge.  This step takes the remaining paint and gives the finer, more even lines I want for my grain.

See Pic #15

Now, for the real key to my whole process – the fan brush!  Again, like with the sponge and rake brush, I first run it gently along the area with the wide area of the brush perpendicular to the grain.  This is just one more level of refining the grain lines.  At this point, the grain lines, formed by the oil paint, will all be roughly parallel.  I then rotate the fan brush roughly 90 degrees so the wide area  is now parallel to the grain lines (see photos below).  This is where patience and finesse comes in.  By just using the very tips of the bristles, moving back and forth along the grain lines in random motions, I create the swirls and waves that are seen in real wood grain. 

Did you ever finger-paint as a child - creating patterns in thick paint with your fingers?  That is what I compare this to, but at a much finer level, with the tips of the fan brush bristles acting as the fingers.

See Pic #16

See Pic #17

I might also want to add a knot or two to the wood and for that I use a fine "spotter" brush.

See Pic #18

See Pic #19

And there you have it…wood!

See Pic #20

What I just described, with the exception of airbrushing the base coat, which I did last night, took me about 10 minutes this morning!

When working on the model, I put the finished pieces under some kind of cover to protect them from dust as it can take several days for the oil paints to cure.  I usually wait a week to be safe.  For the LVG, once I knew the oil paint was dry, I gave the wood areas a thin coat of a 50/50 mix of Tamiya Clear Orange and Clear Yellow to give it a pale orange varnished look.  This was followed by coats of regular Tamiya Clear before and after the decals are applied.  The multiple coats of clear along with the slight texture causes by the lines of oil paint give depth to the final look.

See Pic #21

A couple of final notes.  One of the biggest frustrations I encounter doing this is the battle against lint and dust.  No matter how careful, during the process, one is bound to pick up a some lint, dust specs, or hair on the paint brush which then finds its way into the paint.  I keep a pair of fine pointed tweezers handy to pick out any such intruder.  Sometimes, the paint finish is disturbed which require additional work to repair.  

Note that the finished "wood" in my demo is on the dark side.  By using different base coats and changing which color of oil paints are used, one can simulate different kinds of wood.   For a lighter wood, like on an Albatross, I'd try a base coat of white or very pale yellow, then for the grain, I'd avoid the darker Umbers and use primarily the Siennas and Yellow Ochre.   Of course, plenty of experimenting on an old model is highly recommended!

Well, that pretty much wraps up my little demo.  I hope you found it useful.  I would be happy to answer any further questions or expound in greater detail on any of the steps. 

I would love to hear from anyone who gives this a try!

Cheers,
Eric