Best Finish for a Black Poplar Mappa Burl Tabletop
1Buffalo
| Posted in General Discussion on
Hi All,
I’m helping a neighbor finish a large Mappa Burl of Black Poplar he bought from a local hardwood shop.
It’s been sanded to 120 but there are lots of little cracks around the edges that I’ll likely fill with epoxy. There are also lots of sharp spines along the live edges. Can those just be sanded with a large disc?
Ultimately, I’m trying to help him put a natural finish on it for his family to use as a dining table. Is there a way to make the burl pop without a glossy sheen?
Here are a few pics.
Any recommendations for a good, low sheen finish would be super helpful!
Rubio, Linseed Oil, Shellac?
Much appreciated!
Replies
In my limited experience, Rubio is an easy way to get the finish you describe. It's definitely not the only one, and I think almost any hard wax oil will do the trick.
A nylon brush attachment on your drill can remove the debris on the live edge and leave the good stuff. Id take a chisel and lop off JUST the sharp end of the bits. Then come back and hand-sand it all.
I'd recommend looking at Blacktail Studio on YouTube. He does stuff like this, and it turns out incredible. Hopefully, that doesn't make too many people cringe, lol. I've learned so much from him, though.
For what that nice slab costed id pay a few more bucks for his full course on exatly this type of work. It costs 100 bucks max it's usually on sale. I think I got it for 30, and it's really handy to reference. Or watch his free videos.
This may be another finish that works for you. It's not as simple as buy Rubio, use Rubio though
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwXp1ckA0xg
Thanks for the reply! I too watch Blacktail Studios. He's does some amazing stuff! I've also watched Erik's videos and I've used a similar finish mixing General Finishes Arm-R-Seal Gloss, Linseed Oil, and a splash of Mineral Spirits, but those aren't food safe. Since this will be a dining table, I figure it should be at least a little food safe. As I was look at Cam's stuff on Blacktail, I actually found a video he did about a year ago on an almost identical piece of Mappa Burl - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWs47qR3XOs.
Thanks again for the comments and suggestions!
This is the excact video i thought of when i read this post lol
The pre-mixed oil wax finishes are a fine way to get a Quick and easy coat of oil and wax and are as durable as an oil an/ or wax finish. They even use the term hard wax finish but wax can only get so hard. I've finished poplar burls with a coat or two of shellac to pop the figure and give an amber tone and sprayed several coats of general finishes water based poly, that will Last for a lifetime of abuse.
Appreciate the feedback. He wants to stay as close to the natural color as possible so the amber tone may be a no-go. We'll see.
Cheers!
Then go straight to the poly, you may want a water based primer to fill the grain. It’s going to come out just as freshly sanded but don’t expect to get the figure to pop, it will be as is.
I like to use a dewaxed shellac as the first couple of coats. It really makes the wood grain pop. You can put anything you want on top after it.
Practice on the underside of that first!