padauk, two questions

[nev]

when i inherited my lathe at christmas, along with it were a few blanks. I've been trying not to use them til i am more proficient and have something particular to turn. anyhow....

seeing as its mothers day and she wanted me to make her something i attacked a blank of padauk (labelled!) and heres the result.

two questions.
1. are the little 'dots and dashes' in the close up a character of the wood?, cos no matter how much i tooled and sanded, i couldnt get rid of them.
2, this is the first item i have finished with finishing oil and really like the 'wet' look when the oil is first applied. what can i apply (in future) to achieve this kind of look?.
i have given this 4 coats with5 hours and a light rub with 0000 ww between coats.
3. do i just buff when i am finished or apply something else?

sorry, that was 3 questions

 

[CHJ]

Ans Q2. Ordinary sanding sealer and burnish to a shine followed by a wax.
Take care if using soft wax like woodwax22 that you do not let it collect in the pores you have noticed as it will dry white as the solvents evaporate. If this occurs burnishing with a bristle brush usually removes it.
Using polishing mops and harder wax like carnauba or microcrystalline makes it easier to avoid this.

Unfortunately the bright red colour will fade to brown over time, especially if exposed to direct sunlight.

Ans. Q3. once the oil has cured you can buff, and despite it not being supposed to work in theory the application of wax will highten the gloss, as long as the oil has cured.

 

[nev]

Ordinary sanding sealer and burnish to a shine followed by a wax.
Take care if using soft wax like woodwax22 that you do not let it collect in the pores you have noticed as it will dry white as the solvents evaporate. If this occurs burnishing with a bristle brush usually removes it.
Using polishing mops and harder wax like carnauba or microcrystalline makes it easier to avoid this.

Unfortunately the bright red colour will fade to brown over time, especially if exposed to direct sunlight.

burnish = :?:

 

[CHJ]

..
burnish = :?:

Have a look about half way down this WIP.

 

[cambournepete]

Ans1 - yes. And I guess you found it very dusty and hard to get a finish this good

 

[petercharlesfagg]

Lovely piece, nice finish!

1 Yes.

Tip 2 keep the dust it makes a very good stain mixed with water for textiles and Sycamore, its cheap too!

Regards Peter

PS To make a more interesting item another time, rub gilding paste into the grain after the first application of finish, it picks out all those pits and as the wood darkens on exposure the Gold stands out even more!

 

[OldWood]

Lovely piece, nice finish!

Tip 2 keep the dust it makes a very good stain mixed with water for textiles and Sycamore, its cheap too!

Regards Peter

PS To make a more interesting item another time, rub gilding paste into the grain after the first application of finish, it picks out all those pits and as the wood darkens on exposure the Gold stands out even more!

The guy who introduced me to wood turning tells an amusing story about his first efforts with padauk. He had just had a brand new shower installed and went to use it after his turning session - it wasn't noticed at the time but the next morning much of the grout had turned reddish. He didn't put two and two together till some time later, by which time he had persuaded the installers that this was their fault and the grout had to be dug out and replaced !!

Thanks for the comments on the pores and gilding paste tip.

Rob

 

[nev]

Lovely piece, nice finish!

1 Yes.

Tip 2 keep the dust it makes a very good stain mixed with water for textiles and Sycamore, its cheap too!

Regards Peter

PS To make a more interesting item another time, rub gilding paste into the grain after the first application of finish, it picks out all those pits and as the wood darkens on exposure the Gold stands out even more!

thanks, too late for the dust, Henry had it!, but will remember for next time
i like the idea of that. just googled gilding paste and the majority of results seem to be the glue for applying gold leaf, i guess its not this? can you recommend / point to a particular product?
cheers

 

[cambournepete]

i like the idea of that. just googled gilding paste and the majority of results seem to be the glue for applying gold leaf, i guess its not this? can you recommend / point to a particular product?

Try this.