Need advice for BB in Oak finish

[MikeDingas]

One of the SSWC issues mentioned that Baltic Birch plywood could be finished to resemble oak. Practice it said. Rather than stumbling around, can anyone advise me on how this might be accomplished? Maybe in a honey oak finish?

Thanks in advance.

[eendreno]

hello bb ply is a whole lot lighter than red oak, and white oak for that matter. both have a distinctive grain pattern. the grain pattern varies do to the cut of the log. plain sliced will give you a wider grain spacing, with gentle flowing lines and a series of ovals and curls. quarter sawn will give you tight lines that run closer together. birch has a non distinct grain. you can acheive any color of the wood you like by using a min wax stain. getting the grain definition is the tricky part. when working with molded fiberglass, or stamped masonite doors i used a series of gel stains. i rubbed on walnut. let in stand for several minutes, then rubbed off. i then added mahogony, rubbed it off a little quicker. then top coated with a honey oak. it gave both types of doors the look of real wood. possibly try something like this. test it on a scrap peice first. doug