How to Simulate Wood
- 1). Hold the utility knife as you would hold a pencil. Grab it near the tip and pretend that you are going to draw with it.
- 2). Place the tip of the knife against the composite wood, dried plaster or putty. Begin cutting 1/16-inch deep as you cut vertically down the wood in a curvy line. Try to imagine wood grain, how it gracefully curves back and forth and cut a line accordingly.
- 3). Cut another line 1/16 inch from the first line, parallel to the line but curving randomly to reproduce wood grain. Continue cutting lines down the wood in the same manner until you have curvy lines completely across the surface.
- 4). Sand over the lines lightly by hand with 180-grit sandpaper.
- 5). Dampen a soft cloth with stain. Wipe the stain over the lines until the surface is wet. Wipe off the stain lightly. The stain will stay inside the cuts and make them appear as if they were wood grain.
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