Colour of Luan Mahagany

[Gerald_G]

Hi all.

I am ready to start sheeting the interier of my trailer project. I am looking into various materials.

One option is the prefinished white plastic wrapped over the 1/8" luan ply, ready to install.

A second of course is the birch ply with varnish finish, but my wife wants it to look like the trailers from the RV dealership, and is not keen on wood grain walls.

Each of these runs $30.00 a sheet around here.

For about 1/2 of that I can get sanded Luan, but if I were to varnish that, I would get a very dark finish.

Now for the question at hand, has anyone ever used a product to die, or whiten the luan mahagany before varnishing to bring up the shade a lot? I think kitchen places call this a frosted finish.

Any ideas besides painting it white inside ? I think painted wood walls may be a high maintenance issue.

My trailer is bigger than a tear here, so I am looking at quite a few sheets to complete. All ideas welcome.

Thanks
Gerald

[halfdome, Danny]

Hi all.

I am ready to start sheeting the interier of my trailer project. I am looking into various materials.

One option is the prefinished white plastic wrapped over the 1/8" luan ply, ready to install.

A second of course is the birch ply with varnish finish, but my wife wants it to look like the trailers from the RV dealership, and is not keen on wood grain walls.

Each of these runs $30.00 a sheet around here.

For about 1/2 of that I can get sanded Luan, but if I were to varnish that, I would get a very dark finish.

Now for the question at hand, has anyone ever used a product to die, or whiten the luan mahagany before varnishing to bring up the shade a lot? I think kitchen places call this a frosted finish.

Any ideas besides painting it white inside ? I think painted wood walls may be a high maintenance issue.

My trailer is bigger than a tear here, so I am looking at quite a few sheets to complete. All ideas welcome.

Thanks
Gerald

Gerald, There are commercial wood bleaches that would whiten it but I would guess it may delaminate the top veneer since Luann is a low grade plywood. If you have a Rockler or Woodcraft close to you ask them, they have lots of products in that category. Danny

[Gerald_G]

Thanks for the note, I live in western Canada, and neither of those stores sound like ones I have near me or even in this country.

I'll keep checking around though.

I was'nt so much thinking of bleaching the wood as I was using a semi-opaque white staine and then varnish. It's just a thought.

I should get a scrap and run some tests.

[Miriam C.]

Ordinary wood paneling with a light color. Might even try some wall paper over luan. You could even prefinish it.

Good luck

[goldcoop]

Gerald-

I have successfully primed & painted luan white, no problems!

Cheers,

Coop

[toypusher]

You could always try using white water based paint and really watering it down. Make a few samples and see if you can get the color that you are looking for. For just a bit a lightening, you might be able to find a paint color to kind of match and then water it down and apply with a cloth like you would with a stain.

[madjack]

...goto whatever store you have nearby with paints and stains...look for a white pickling stain...thin it copiously with water...it will give a white look to the Luan and still allow the grain and some natural color to show through....
madjack

[halfdome, Danny]

Thanks for the note, I live in western Canada, and neither of those stores sound like ones I have near me or even in this country.

I'll keep checking around though.

I was'nt so much thinking of bleaching the wood as I was using a semi-opaque white staine and then varnish. It's just a thought.

I should get a scrap and run some tests.

Sorry, Your avatar doesn't specify what country your from. If you bleach the wood first it's like starting with a raw pallett to color. We use to bleach Red Oak to make it look white with a dye. Madjack's idea will work. Danny

[Micro469]

You can alway use the Pickling Process.... Paint it with latex paint, wipe most of it off before it dries... just leaves paint in the pores... or dip a rag in the paint and give it a wash.....

[bledsoe3]

Gerald, The luan I used doesn't seem too dark. Look at the wood on the outside of the light box. It is unstained versus the wood on the wall that is stained.

Just a contrast shot. I did stain it to match.

[Gerald_G]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I think Madjacks idea is closest to what I had in mind. Or the watered down paint. I'll have to decide now.

PS - I also added location to my profile.

[tk]

Another frost method is to mix white alkyd paint with sprayable lacquer. Two coats at 1:40 ratio whitens the wood but lets the grain show through on white oak. Gives a more even look than the frosting methods in which you wipe off the majority of the initial coat. How it looks will depend a lot on the nature of the grain of the particular wood you use.

Best,
Tom