Harvey Schneider
09-10-2010, 10:16 AM
I have to thank everybody who gave me advice on finishing this bowl.
I did experiments on the scraps that were band-sawed off the original blank and learned a great deal about finishing Wenge. All of the penetrating finishes, including oils, lacquers and polyurethane had the same effect on the grain pattern. They all darkened the brown grain so that the wood became uniformly dark.
In the end, wax was the finish that gave me the appearance that I wanted. I applied and buffed the wax but then discovered that the wax, lodged in some of the open pores of the wood, had a white appearance. Heating the wood gently with a heat gun until the wax began to flow cleared this problem. Hand buffing was all that was needed to get the final appearance to my satisfaction.
I considered Malcolm's suggestion of liming wax, and I experimented with it on some of the scraps. The effect was quite striking although a little hard to control. I think that I will have to try that on some future piece, but I wasn't willing to risk this one.
I have to apologize for the photography. The combination of the dark wood and hard wax gives a surface that is like a mirror. I don't have a dedicated photo setup, and the reflection of the sky was impossible to eliminate from the pictures.
I did experiments on the scraps that were band-sawed off the original blank and learned a great deal about finishing Wenge. All of the penetrating finishes, including oils, lacquers and polyurethane had the same effect on the grain pattern. They all darkened the brown grain so that the wood became uniformly dark.
In the end, wax was the finish that gave me the appearance that I wanted. I applied and buffed the wax but then discovered that the wax, lodged in some of the open pores of the wood, had a white appearance. Heating the wood gently with a heat gun until the wax began to flow cleared this problem. Hand buffing was all that was needed to get the final appearance to my satisfaction.
I considered Malcolm's suggestion of liming wax, and I experimented with it on some of the scraps. The effect was quite striking although a little hard to control. I think that I will have to try that on some future piece, but I wasn't willing to risk this one.
I have to apologize for the photography. The combination of the dark wood and hard wax gives a surface that is like a mirror. I don't have a dedicated photo setup, and the reflection of the sky was impossible to eliminate from the pictures.