I should probably dump this in the finishing forum, but we’ll see if anybody bites here. Long story for a short question:
Here’s the situation, and it may sound a little strange. My wife’s greatgrandfather, who was a woodworker, had two pieces of lacewood which were each approximately 3/4″9″x36″. He edge-glued them together to make an 18″x36″ panel but never ended up doing anything with it. He finally handed it down to his son, my wife’s grandfather, who also worked wood and who also never did anything with it. Now it has been passed on to me.
The thing is, I could never imagine putting steel to that piece of wood. No matter how careful I would be, I would still be afraid of mucking something up. So the idea came up to build a nice frame and use this beautiful piece of wood as a wall hanging (like the guy in the commercial at the museum, “we appreciate those who appreciate wood”).
So with that as the incredibly long-winded background, what is the best finish to use for lacewood? Obviously durability won’t be much of a concern. I look forward to what you folks have to say.
Thanks, Bart
Replies
Can you post a pix? I have never seen lacewood of that vintage.
My guess is that the finishing pros will chime in with a first coat of BLO, rubbed in and then off, to pop the grain, and then whatever you want. How about french polishing it, and using it as a sort of mirror? Do you want to color it? If so, I would go with a dye so that you do not obscure the pretty grain. I have a board of it now, and will use it on my next project as a table top. Wasn't terribly spendy ($7.00/bf). I sort of like the present color, so I don't think I will dye mione. Before I bought it, I had the yard/mill surface one side on a jointer, and there was not much tearout at all, which surprised me since it is so highly figured.
Alan
Unfortunately, I don't have a digital camera. I'll try to post something if I can borrow one. The last time I saw lacewood around here they wanted something like $12/bf. But boy, wouldn't it look nice on top of a jewelry box?
There's no way I would do any kind of dye or stain, the stuff is too pretty just the way it is. The BLO sounds great. I'm sort of waffling between having any kind of topcoat (shellac?) or leaving the wood where it can be touched.
Thanks for the suggestions. Anybody else want to chime in?
I would probably do something on top of the BLO. I have found that BLO alone will not be durable. I find it tends to sort of dry out, over time, and require renewing. If you want to go minimalist, try a wiped coat of alkyd varnish, mineral spirits, and BLO, on top of the straight BLO. It will leave little build up, but enough solids to be protective. You shouldn't see any film.
So BLO seems to be the consensus for popping the grain, and your topcoat sounds good. What are the proportions, 1:1:1?
Thanks!
There are a million formulae; 1-1-1 is 1. I go with about 6 ms, 4v, 1blo. The oil softens the finish, and I don't think a lot is needed for this task. The heavier ms makes drying speed along. Use naptha if you ar ein a hurry. Be sure to use very fresh varnish. I find varnish won't dry nearly so well when it is a bit aged. Make up only what you need, which won't be much.
Alan
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