Limed oak

[GM]

I want to achieve a limed oak effect for some new oak doors. Googling has taught me that this seems to be a UK thing (typical - limeys) and not that popular here, and nor can I find many products here. Has anyone done this using products available in HD etc? Any tips gratefully received

[joe]

Actually, the term limey's is a nautical thing, dating back to sailing ships and scurvy or, in the case of limeys, the lack of scurvy.....

Here's a general finishes link. I think the effect you're going for is at the bottom of the page (middle pic)

Good luck with your liming,

jc

[ransley]

It was commom in the US in the 30-40s it is I believe a wash of thinned pigment, Milk Paint is a name, its nearly impossible to remove when restoring old Milk Painted wood. A real paint store should be able to direct you Benjamin Moore stores, probably have a product. But I would think a thinned down stain would do fine, test what you want on scrap wood.

[Norminn]

There are commercial "stains" available, but I haven't tried any of them. I did a "pickled" stain on our oak railings that divide sunken living room from dining room. The oak was old and yellowed, so I stripped it. Grain too dark for our new color scheme, so I mixed my own "stain" using pale taupe paint used for our trim in the rest of the room. Just mix in some mineral spirits, brush on, let set a while, wipe off. You could throw in a tad bit of linseed oil..............I'm always mixing up stains for small projects and don't use any particular recipe. The taupe paint on our oak rail made it the right color, but allows some grain to show. I put one coat of a clear finish........water base? Oil base? Who remembers :o) It's been about 4 years and hasn't fallen off. There isn't much time to let this particular paint set, as it dried quickly. If you do a google search, you will find recipes online.

[GM]

Thanks guys. As suggested, I'm going to experiment, will report back