Zebrano and rosewood

[sunnybob]

I think I'm working above my pay grade again.
My latest box is made from the above woods, mainly because i like the stripes and the colours, but both of these are very open pored, and I'm having a problem getting a smooth surface on them.

Normally I use 320 grit and thats fine for what I want, but the uneven surfaces of both of these are annoying me a little bit.
Can the open grain be (fairly) easily filled? If its an arcane answer like japanning or french polishing, dont bother to try to tell me cos I aint got the patience.
To be honest, the zebra is not as bad as the rosewood, which is so uneven it looks like it hasnt been sanded at all.

 

[custard]

I've never finished Zebrano so I haven't a clue. Rosewood I've finished plenty and you're right, it's famously open grained.

I use Jecofil. I'm sure there other grain fillers that are just as good, but Jecofil is the one I trust. For Rosewood use either Dark Walnut, or if you want to warm up the boards a touch then use Antique Mahogany.

http://www.jpennyltd.co.uk/shopping/pgm ... php?id=142

You can grain fill with Plaster Of Paris, sand it off and then oil it. It's cheap and cheerful, but by the time your grandkids inherit your work the oil will have migrated out into the timber, so they'll see loads of nasty white specs in the pores and might think you were a rubbish polisher!

There are plenty of other options, but only for patient workers.

 

[sunnybob]

What are the chances of finding that in my local DIY shop I wonder.

I can get Liberon range of stuff, would their wax filler be any good?

 

[custard]

I'm sure Liberon grain filler is just as good, but wax filler generally means wax repair sticks, you can't really finish over wax. If it doesn't say "grain filler" on the tin then stay clear.

Incidentally, always worth testing on scrap first.

 

[sunnybob]

Hmmm, I think I'm out of luck then.
I've had a conversation with the shop about sanding sealer, and thats all the blank "crazy english" stares that I can take this year.

Is your favourite stuff flammable? If not I might be able to get my next visitor to bring a tin over.

 

[ED65]

Bob, can you get plaster of Paris over there?

See recent mention of it in this thread: Sealers and pore fillers.

 

[sunnybob]

Just read that post, and its getting into the "I dont have the patience" zone for me.

What I make has appeal (obviously because I can sell them) but its not fine art. This box is an ear ring box for my 7 year old grandaughter. I'm not going into esoteric concoctions and 27 step programmes on a box that may be worth 20 quid when I'm finished (but I'm giving it to her so cost is even more important).

A tin of stuff that I only apply once or twice per box at most, and will let me make several boxes from the tin is what I want.
I accept that normally I can get more rocking horse waste products than what I'm usually after, but I have to ask. :roll: :roll:

The zebrano has taken quite well to liberon black bison wax. At the finishing stage I was convinced the box was so ugly it would be binned. Now after a few coats of "wipe on, wipe off" I'm thinking this is what high end speaker cabinets should be made of.

the rosewood has not taken so well, there are so many sub surface swells and whorls that it still looks like rough sawn. Oh well, its only the back plate.

 

[SkinnyB]

I have used the old fashioned way, using egg whites. Worked very well for me.
https://skinnerdesigns.blogspot.co.uk/2 ... html?q=egg

 

[sunnybob]

That is bizzare, are you telling me it works 100%?
And on all woods?
Eggs we have here.

 

[SkinnyB]

I can’t say it works on all woods only used walnut myself. Saw the process on a guitar making forum. Basically the wet sanding create a paste of saw dust then the egg keeps it in the grain. Bonus is it uses the same saw dust in the area surrounding to fill gaps.

 

[Sgian Dubh]

You can grain fill with Plaster Of Paris, sand it off and then oil it. It's cheap and cheerful, but by the time your grandkids inherit your work the oil will have migrated out into the timber, so they'll see loads of nasty white specs in the pores and might think you were a rubbish polisher!

I too have seen the whiteness show throogh after many decades. I'm thinking particularly of Edwardian, Victorian and similar old and antique furniture I've either restored or repaired.

However, I don't think the common eventual whiteness has to be inevitable. There's a technique I use of adding pigment colours to the plaster of Paris, with an example below. This is oak coloured up with ferrous sulphate, then a coat of lacquer, grain filled with plaster of Paris with added green paint pigment, then a further two coats of lacquer. It's surprising how little paint pigment is required (maybe 5 - 10%) to achieve, in this case, a quite striking and vivid green fill. If I'd been looking for the grain filler to blend into the background I would have experimented first to get the proportions right by adding a little black pigment instead of green. Slainte.

 

[sunnybob]

Well, I tried the egg white thing on the rosewood.

kinda worked..... I think its smoother because of the egg white, but it could just be just because I sanded it more than I've ever sanded anything before.
Its definitely lowered the colour tone. looks like very old rosewood instead of brand new .

Not keen on the new look, very doubtful I shall use that again. And as for the plaster and the pigment and three coats and the.... OMG! No way, no how.

 

[memzey]

If you can wait until August Bob let me know which flavour you need and I'll bring you over a tin.

 

[sunnybob]

Memzey, you cant go cluttering your luggage with tins of stuff for me.
You need to save all that space for the wadkin.

 

[memzey]

LOL! A tin or two would fit in the cabinet of an AGS easily. But no more than that mind - it might tip over my luggage allowance