the board is installed the wrong way to start with. it should be horizontal to achieve the rustic look. why do you need a painter for such a small job? try to remove the existing finish with mineral spirits or a heat gun. apply a coat of white acrylic primer and sand with 300 grit paper once dry. clean with vacuum. apply a coat of dark grey emulsion. dry. then spray a coat of white automotive laquer very lightly. usually thus dries quick in 30 minutes. very carefully sand with 400 grit on the grains and you will now have the desired finish. cost of materials approx 1000rs.

How suitable is rubber wood to Indian climatic conditions? What are the pros and cons of using this material technically in a sense that does it warp/shrink etc? I am using it for the first time and any experience shared would be helpful. thanks in advance.

hi, you can opt for particle board/mdf/plywood. Particle board (Cost effective with wide range of applications) MDF (Very economical & durable and much preferred these days) Plywood (applications are limited because of relatively high costs but it has the highest resistance to water exposure, even higher than solid wood) for hardware you can go for hafele/hettich/ozone.

Hello Ishiita, There are different materials you can check for - 1) Hdhmr for the structure with 25mm block board for the shutters 2) 18mm thick plywood with .9mm of laminate for the inner structure along with 25mm of shutters