# Wood Finishing Question



## Lacumo (Aug 18, 2013)

Posts here make it clear that BLO seems to be the #1 overall finish of preference, but I remember seeing one post in which the poster was unhappy with what BLO had done to a piece of zebrawood. So... the question is --- What is the preferred finish for woods that have dramatic light vs. dark color contrast in the grain (e.g: zebrawood, rosewood, canarywood, tulipwood, macassar ebony, etc)?


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## e~shot (Jun 3, 2010)

Yes.. you are correct some wood also for micarta BLO not a good option. You can try CA glue finish. may be spraying lacquer ( I haven't tried yet).


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## BCLuxor (Aug 24, 2010)

CA gives wood a "wet" look and very high gloss without altering the original timber colours the downside is it takes a while to get the hang of it, in effect to finish it you are sanding it away :-S Tru. Oil is similar to BLO. But from what I remember it did not discolour as badly as BLO


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## Lacumo (Aug 18, 2013)

Thank, guys... I recently got some absolutely beautiful canarywood and Bolivian rosewood and they both have eye-popping light/dark grain color contrast. If I use a finish on them that screws them up, I'd probably take a long walk on a short pier. Those woods were too expensive for me to experiment on to get the hang of doing a CA finish.

A while ago, I used the "natural" (i.e: untinted, transparent) Watco Danish Oil to finish a spinning wheel that was made out of European alder and birch (which both looked kind of like typical clear pine). That oil brought out the grain a little bit and darkened the wood up just a little bit--one of the woods a little bit more than the other.

Does anybody know if that natural Watco Danish Oil would be a safe thing to use on those fancy dark/light color-contrasted woods? I may (?) just go with a satin finish varnish to play it safe...


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## Metropolicity (Aug 22, 2013)

e~shot said:


> Yes.. you are correct some wood also for micarta BLO not a good option. You can try CA glue finish. may be spraying lacquer ( I haven't tried yet).


I am huge fan of spray acrylic, it's fast and effective.

I usually shoot 1-2 coats after sanding only to 320 grit and then after it's dry, sand it with a nail buffer to get it down to a nice silky smooth texture. After that I hit it again with a light coat of spray. The whole process takes less than a couple of hours and it's ready to shoot in 5.

I found that actual lacquer is nice, but takes a lot of patience and drying time. Also, it stinks...lots of off gassing time.


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## ash (Apr 23, 2013)

BLO is good because it's easy to do with no equipment other than rags and sandpaper. Lacquer is much better in my opinion, but the equipment and skill required is impractical for most to acquire. CA is somewhere in between. No much equipment, but a bit more skill required than BLO.

Danish oil is just a slight variation on BLO that dries quicker. Should be a good option for those richly coloured woods.

Lacquer and enamel from spray cans is often not a good choice for rich, oily tropical hard woods, as the oils will prevent the finish from drying properly. Test on scraps first.


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## Btoon84 (Nov 22, 2011)

BLO will darken wood the longer it stays on. It will penetrate more the longer it stays on too. If you're worried about darkening the wood too much, just don't soak it in a BLO bath for 48hrs  you can either just wipe on a bit or do a quick soak. I don't like the slippery feel that many of the other finishes leave. My hands sweat and slippery slingshots aren't fun. Good luck sir.


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## Viper010 (Apr 21, 2012)

Simply test some different finishes on the off cuts that's the only way to be sure.


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## One Shot-Corey (Nov 17, 2012)

how long should i let the blo dry before i start waxing


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## filipino_saltik (Oct 7, 2011)

for me try to use sanding sealer and sand up to 600 or 1000 then spray clear coat ull get a glass like finish. but i dont like it that much coz its making my catty more on the slippery side very bad for sweaty hands heheheh^^


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## Viper010 (Apr 21, 2012)

One Shot-Corey said:


> how long should i let the blo dry before i start waxing


Until it is dry. 
Depends on climate (hot and dry makes it cure fast, cold and moist allows down curing)

Depends on brand of oil, and age of the container (older oil will often dry faster because it has already partially oxidised in the container) however, old oil can go lumpy and may have to be diluted with mineral spirit of discarded if it had gone too lumpy

And last but not least, it depends how much oil you applied. The more oil is on there, the longer it will take to cure. Thin layers dry in hours or days, depending on forementioned circumstances. A thick coat of oil can take weeks to cure. So a number of thin layers will cure faster than a single thick one.


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## One Shot-Corey (Nov 17, 2012)

Cool tks for that


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## amm1266 (Mar 27, 2013)

always something to learn here ... even when you're not even trying ...


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## Jeff Pickeral (Apr 7, 2014)

fast dry lacquer 3 coats I use 0000 steel wool after the first and second coats. works for me.


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## Dr Dave (Mar 16, 2014)

Having made knives for many years using some of the exotic woods, I have found that a simple paste wax finish is both durable and easily repaired if necessary. Kiwi natural shoe polish also works very well. Neither will mask the beauty of the wood.


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