Replies

1. 
   woodrae | Mar 28, 2007 04:59pm | #1

   Drew—

   Any wood with a pomele figure will be full of porous areas because the grain runs every which way, exposing porous end grain adjacent to tighter long grain. It can be tough to fill for that glass-smooth look.

   You say you want a clear but light finish. Shellac will give clarity, but you’ll need multiple coats to fill the pores before you have a smooth finish. Yes, fillers will ‘muddy’ the grain and color somewhat, so I’ve avoid that if you want a clear and natural-looking finish. I think you have two, possibly three, options:

   You can try for the glass-smooth finish by building up successive light coats of shellac (or practically any other type of finish), until the surface has an even sheen, with no dull spots showing, and the entire surface is covered with an even film of finish. It may take 10 coats or more, depending on the thickness of the shellac, or its “cut.” Be sure to sand with 220-grit sandpaper (or thereabouts) between coats. After that, you can adjust the sheen by either rubbing out the finish with a grey abrasive nylon pad and paste wax for a satin or dull effect, or polishing with a finer pad and wax or using polishing compound and a polishing pad for a gloss or high-gloss sheen. Regardless of the sheen, the result will be a heavy film-type finish, perhaps not the ‘light’ look you desire.

   Alternatively, you can simply apply several coats of shellac (the exact amount will depend on your cut) and then rub that out with the same grey pad and wax. Rubbing out will even up the sheen and cut the shiny look, giving it a satin effect, but you’ll still be left with open pores for a more natural look, albeit ‘grainy.’ You’ll end up with a finish that’s somewhere between a penetrating finish and a film finish, with perhaps the ‘light’ appearance you’re after.

   Having said this, the classic finish would be a French polish, which is probably what you started on but simply didn’t go far enough with in the process. I suggest you read up on how this finish is applied, but in a nutshell it involves multiple coats of super-thin shellac, some pumice and rottenstone abrasives, and lots of rubbing. Done correctly, a French polish should have great clarity, fill the grain and leave a light, thin coating on the work. It works on all woods, but requires more coats on really porous materials such as your pomele-figured sapele.

   Since finishing is always part science and part art, I recommend trying your finishing regimen on a sample board of pomele sapele to work out the bugs, find out how many coats you need to apply, and see whether you like the final look.

   Happy finishing,
   Andy Rae

1. 
   SpecialK | Mar 28, 2007 06:27pm | #2

   Andy,

   Thanks for the information.  Frankly, I was getting to the point where after 6 or 7 coats of shellac with a light sanding between, I was not seeing too much progress.  Since you said it may take 10 or more, I have renewed hope.  Thanks again,

   Drew