Filling Oak Grain

[JoeB1]

I have some rough sawn oak I want to use for cabinet door frames. They will be painted. I will use MDF for the panels.

Everything I have researched shows filling the oak grain but they are refinishing not building new.

I plan to use watered down drywall compound to do the fill. Instead of doing it after assembly, I think it would be better to do it right after I have run the oak through the jointer, planer, cut to size and sanded. Then I could do the jointery.

Any issues with this plan of attack?

Thanks.

 

[Wilsoncb]

What kind of paint and or primer are you using? I would try some Zinsser BIN white shellac primer. It dries really fast and sand easily. It also comes in a spray can so easy to deal with. A couple coats might work depending on the topcoat. Something like BM Advance flattens out pretty well. I’ve heard good things about Cabinet Coat as well.

 

[chris_goris]

You say youre building cabinet door frames and they are painted. Is this something youre goint to look at daily or is it shop type cabinets?. Im not sure youll ever be happy with filling the grain and having it next to an MDF panel, it will stick out like a sore thumb. Im also not sure how many doors we are talking about either. Is there some reason you cant spring a few dollars to use soft maple instead? . All the work and aggravation youre about to embark on, just may not be worth a couple dollars at the end of the day.

 

[Oka]

Just a thought If you want the paint to cover nicely, you can seal with thinned bar resin, you will need the type that dries in 30-45 min, thin with acetone 20-30%.

Might want to try this out for future projects. It works very well for me.

 

[Rwe2156]

If you want a perfectly smooth surface, IMO the simplest way is get some poplar or soft maple. If you have the oak and don't want to buy lumber, then I think you'll have to decide whether some grain showing through is unacceptable or not.

Oak can be painted but it's no fun. I don't know if you'll ever be able to totally fill it with just primer without grain telescoping through. I think you would have to use an actual grain filler. I don't see how that's worth the time and effort.

I would take a look at a high build primer (Kilz, Sherwinn Williams, Target Coatings). You're still looking at multiple coats. Sand with a hard block.

Just my experience, I'm sure others can probably do it.