Wooden tray

Use a selection of Resene Waterborne Colorwood Testpots to emphasise the grain in a plain wooden tray.

Ways with wood with Mark Rayner - Project 14

Difficulty level: Easy

You will need: an unpainted wooden tea tray, a cloth, latex gloves, sandpaper and paintbrushes (including an artists’ brush). Resene Aquaclear satin and Resene Waterborne Colorwood natural wood stain testpots in the following colours: Resene Black Pepper, Resene Deep Oak, Resene Tabasco and Resene Teak Stain.

To get the look: Mark painted the background wall with Resene SpaceCote Low Sheen tinted to Resene Red Berry.

Other ideas: For a paler woodgrain effect try Resene Oregon and Resene Meranti over a basecoat of Resene Candlelight.

Step one
Lightly sand the tray with a medium and fine grade sandpaper. Wipe off dust with a clean cloth.

Step two
Apply one coat of Resene Tabasco to the centre panel of the tray, taking care not to get any on the surrounding raised edge. Leave for 10-15mins

Step three
Wipe off any excess with a dry, lint free cloth.

Step four
Following the grain, use an artists’ brush and Resene Teak to apply a series of heavy grain lines and ‘knots’ across the tray top, as shown. Leave for 10-15 mins.

Step five
Wipe off any excess with a dry, lint free cloth.

Step six
Repeat steps four and five using Resene Deep Oak and Resene Black Pepper until you are happy with the grain effect.

Step seven
Apply one coat of Resene Black Pepper to the raised edge and handles of the tray. Leave for 10-15 mins before wiping off any excess with a dry, lint free cloth. Repeat for the underside of the try. Leave to dry for 48 hours.