Figured Maple and Rosewood Mahogany Box

[Thornburn]

I am in the final stages of sanding a small (170 x 45 x 6 mm) curly maple box that is lined with Rosewood Mahogany. Both timbers are beautifully figured.
I am planning to sand to 800 grit and then ...................... and thats where I'm lost. I have a number of finishes to choose from. I am keen to not darken the wood and to show its natural features as best I can.
My choices of finishing products are:
Ubeaut Sanding Sealer (not a finish, I understand)
EEE - Ultra Shine
Ubeaut White Shellac
Ubeaut Shellawax
I am confused as to whether I should use the sanding sealer, then White Shellac, then EEE OR start with EEE and then move onto White Shellac.
I'm also wondering if there should be a different approach to the two timbers (is the mahogany open grained and thus should it be treated differently from the maple?)
I have not yet assembled the box so am wondering if I should finish the surfaces before I assemble and then glue.
Your advice/experience would be appreciated

Thanks
Thornburn

[RufflyRustic]

Hi Thornburn,

I hope you'll post a picture when you've finished the box

Sanding sealer when sanding

Shellac, white or hard

EEE

then, lastly Trad wax.


From memory, Shellawax is better for turners. If in doubt, check out UBeaut's Book of Finishing. Well worth it and one book you'll probably wear out with use over any other book.

cheers
Wendy

[surfdabbler]

I'd recommend the White Shellac. It's the best finish I've used to bring out the textures in the wood. (Polyurethane shows off a bit of the grain, but the yellow colour is not always nice. Nitro lacquer doesn't discolour the wood, but doesn't bring out any depth in the wood)

I'm not that good at putting on Shellac in the traditional way - I can't get the hang of the rubbed finish. I've read plenty of instructions on how to apply it, and rub it out to a glassy finish. Mine always comes out streaky and uneven. I've tried a few small projects, and in the end, I give up on the rubbing, sand it flat, and then trad-wax and steel wool it, which gives a nice flat finish, and a beautiful satin lustre, and really shows off the wood. It's also much easier to do on the assembled project. I don't know how to get a good result rubbing shellac in and around the curves and edges. But my sand-paper and steel wool method is just as easy to do after the project is assembled.

As for the EEE, it is a polish. I would put the Shellac on first, to get it into the wood to bring out the textures better. If you put EEE on first, it would probably stop the shellac from looking so nice. EEE is supposed to be good for polishing after the Shellac if you wanted a gloss finish. White Shellac is a sanding sealer in itself, so no need for anything else.

Edit - If your mahogany is really open grained, you can work the shellac into the grain by rubbing. The other alternative is to do lots of coats to fill the grain, and sand back to flatten, but rubbing will fill the grain using less shellac. And, it's probably good practice at rubbing.

[RufflyRustic]

I agree with SurfDabbler that White Shellac will definitely 'pop' the grain and feature.

White Shellac is not sanding sealer. White Shellac is part of what makes up sanding sealer. But on the other hand, the way I dilute the WHite Shellac with pure Metho does make my mixture somewhat similar to the strength of sanding sealer.


EEE is a buffing compound, not a polish. You'll find that the shiny finish from EEE will fade in time. The polish from Trad Wax lasts longer. I found this out the hard way

May I sincerely suggest you have a good browse through the U-Beaut polishes link above and also seriously consider buying UBeaut's Book of Finishing. It really does answer a lot of your questions and if you have any other questions, you can get feedback/answers from the Author right here. (Answers may not be immediate due to how Busy the Author is)


Yes, I have the book and yes, it's becoming well-thumbed with use.

cheers
Wendy

[RufflyRustic]

I have to add, that Surf's obviously had different experiences to me while using shellac of any variety.

I too, cannot French Polish to save myself, but I can now use a rubber to put a few light & thin coats of shellac onto the piece with fewer runs that ever - might sound like nothing, but for me, that's a major achievement and the finish looks 1000 times better too. It's practice in getting the right shellac mix, the right amount of shellac on the rubber for the size of the area you are covering, the hand movement etc etc etc

If I can't get good coverage inside a piece or project, then I'll mask up the join areas and then shellac the piece before putting it all together. Again, a massive improvement in the finish of my work.

cheers
Wendy

[Thornburn]

Thanks Wendy and Surfdabbler,

Yes I have Neil's book and have thumbed it well!

If the box works out I will post some pics, but I've had some "challenges" with tearout because the wood is so figured so what was a special project for my stepdaughter has now become a practice project and "bits and pieces" box for my partner at her work. But al least I've learnt a lot and looking forward to the next attempt.

Thanks for the replies, now I can finish this (I hope) over Easter before I have to go away (on business) again.

Cheers & Happy Easter
Thornburn