can anyone recommend something for these doors?

right now, they are a light wood grain. they are hollow, maybe veneer? (original doors that came with the house--about 40 years old). i'd like to paint them a white, to lighten up the interior of the house, but i don't want to cover them with spray paint. i'd like to have the wood grain show through.

can anyone recommend a technique/paint to use? would whitewashing work?

 

Whitewashing will lighten them up a little, it will make them look almost dusty, assuming that there is a stain and clear finish on them now. If there is, lightly sand it with a 220, don't miss any spots and sand with the grain. For white washing I use an oil based semigloss white paint, thinned down to about 1 part paint and 1 part thinner (half and half) maybe a little less thinner depending on the paint itself. Brush the solution on and wipe it back off with clean rags, allow to dry overnight and apply a clearcoat if you like it. If it is not light enough, you may want to prime and paint, be sure not to mix up all the white paint in case you decide to paint it.

Painting them would show the grain, the texture of the grain but not any of the color of the grain, I mean, on most doors it does.

Hope this helps,