How raised grain louvers are made.

Posted by Shutter Medic on 8/10/2013 to

Periodically Shutter Medic ® receives questions concerning louvers that have a raised pronounced grain surface. Although we do not provide these types of louver repair kits, we thought it would be helpful to provide some background about how they are made.

Some manufacturers in an effort to distinguish themselves from competitors offer this type of louver to customers. This has become much less common in the past decade due to lack of demand and the requirement of an added step involved with the fabrication process of this type of louver.

Generally, the species of hardwood that louvers are made from is either Poplar Louver Wire Brush (painted shutters) or Bass Wood (stained shutters). Both species are very easy to machine and finish. When sanded and finished they produce a very smooth finish that today most customers demand.

In order to attain the raised grain texture on louvers, a softer hardwood such as pine must be passed through a drum sander that contains a rotating wire brush. This wire brush removes the softer wood fibers between the grain, producing the raised grain surface as depicted in the photo. Grain Tool

Some customers that have been unable to locate raised grain louver replacement kits have told us that they did have pretty good success using a wood grain tool on our smooth louver kits. This tool is inexpensive and can be found at most home improvement and paint stores.

Raised Grain Louvers

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