The background for faux wood graining ash is the same as that we have described for oak.

It consists of white stained with ochre.

If the ground is stippled before the wiping out,it should be done with raw umber and raw sienna in glaze; reduce their strength by the addition of white so that the stippling does not appear tooprominent.

When it is to be grained with water based glazes the graining color is formed of black and Vandyke brown.

With this mixture the panel is over spread, and the character is taken out with a sponge. The heart of the wood is then softened, and the whole is over grained with the same color.

If the ash is to be grained in oil, the panel is covered in the same manner, but the heart is taken out with a cloth or leather, drawn tightly over the thumb.

A suitable comb is then worked in a straight line down the panel, as in overgraining.

When this has been done, a splitting comb is drawn sharply from angle to angle, taking care not to pass over the heart.

The object of this is to break the straight grain of the former combing.

From the description we have given of the mode of graining, as well as from an examination of the woods, it will be evident that oak and ash are very similar, and their imitations differ only in the mode of combing.

The oak is formed by a waving line, divided by the straight combing; the ash by a straight line, divided by a line from angle to angle, so that if the straight line in ash were not split by the transverse combing, it would have the appearance of oak.