Does Blackwood "fleck"? and possible remedy

[Johnny]

I have an oldish (maybe 40 years) Blackwood bedside table

<O</OThe original finish (not sure of coating) on the bedside was well worn and did not bring out the best in the timber, so I decided to sand back, with the aim of re-coating.
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I've sanded the original coating off using approx 100 grit non fill sand paper, and then began smoothing the timber with 120, 150 and 180 grit.
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But on parts of the bedside, I have noticed small white “flecks” along the grain of the wood. Is it natural for Blackwood to do this? Will the flecks remain when I apply my coating? Is there something wrong with my process? If this is a problem, what can I do?


I have not worked with Blackwood before, nor attempted much restoring, so would be keen to hear peoples' responses


Cheers, John

[ColW]

Hi Johnny

When you say the old coating didn't bring out the best
in the timber, do you mean you couldn't see the grain?

It's probable the old coating was shellac and the table
was french polished, the flecks that have appeared are
most probably grain filler, possibly talc or plaster of paris,
they were commonly used to fill the grain to get a smooth
surface before the shellac was applied, then polished to a high
shine.

What coating did you intend to use on the table? If you intend
to apply a clear coating the flecks will probably still be visible to
you. There are some options but i need more info on what you
intend finishing the table with.

Regards
col.

[Claw Hama]

You can always try a small area with your intended finish and see how it looks. The worst that will happen is you may have to sand it back again. The flecks are most likely as Col said. Blackwood doesn't normaly have specks in it.

[Johnny]

Thanks for the comments, guys.

Col - the coating was such that you could not see the grain. It was just a brownish coat, rather dull.
<O
Not sure how to finish the bedside table, was most likely going to use poly then maybe wax. But from what you’ve said the flecks will probably be visible. To remove the white flecking would mean a deeper sanding?


So I’d be happy to hear suggestions on alternative ways to finish.

John

[rsser]

Yeah, pretty much you have to sand it out.

I've been told with French Polish you can put a coat of baby oil over the lot and the white is sposed to disappear but this is just hearsay.

[ColW]

Definetely sounds as though the original finish was a
french polish, the layers of shellac have been built up to
hide any grain showing through, thus hiding the filler too.

This pic below is part of an old wardrobe converted to
a benchtop, originally it was french polished, upon stripping
it ,you can see that it wasn't really important how the boards
were matched together because they weren't to be seen.
Attachment 106934

the reason i'm showing you this is because when i made this
benchtop wider i also put in blackwood inlays down the length,
then foolishly used a light colored grain filler to this effect on the
blackwood
Attachment 106911

It sticks out like a sore thumb, to me anyway, but it's now just
one of those "such is life" moments and i'll leave it, lesson learned.
I'll always see it. because i know it's there, others may not see it.

In your case, is it really that bad?
you could try a stain on the filler, a lighter color than blackwood
then put a semi gloss poly over it.
Anything you try, just do as claw hama said , try a small section
and see how it goes.

Regards
col

[echnidna]

Yeah, pretty much you have to sand it out.

I've been told with French Polish you can put a coat of baby oil over the lot and the white is sposed to disappear but this is just hearsay.

dunno about baby oil but linseed oil over a plaster filler will make the filler transparent/translucent. When the linseed dries out over the years the white fleck occurs.

[jimbur]

dunno about baby oil but linseed oil over a plaster filler will make the filler transparent/translucent. When the linseed dries out over the years the white fleck occurs.

agreed. It made a cheap fast filler but causes lots of trouble later especially if used on thin veneer.
Jim

[Johnny]

Thanks for the advice and information guys. I never knew that was the french polishing process, with the grain being filled first with talc or plaster of paris. the things you learn!

The flecking is not that bad and not over all the table, so I might give staining the white flecking a go or it might just poly the whole thing (not worrying about the flecks at all), begining with a small section first as claw hama suggested