finish advice for lacewood

[Zahid Naqvi]

I am about to complete a box, made from lacewood and cherry. Considering the types of wood and the inherent figure of lace wood I don't want to use stain of any sort. What would be a good finish to give it a nice glossy polished look and also enhance the lacewood figure. The cherry in the lid will have a laser engraved picture as well.

thanks.

[Dave Anderson NH]

I've always used a coat of biled linseed oil to pop the grain. After it has cured I cover it with 5-10 coats of shellac. Experiment a bit, I've used garnet, blond, and orange shellac depending on the piece and my whim of the moment.

[Tom Scott]

I made some boxes last year with Lacewood tops, and used the same BLO and shellac as Dave (although, probably only 3 coats), and then wax.

Tom

[Mark Stutz]

I've used lacewood as inlay in a mahogany box top. From my early days and don't have digital pics, but I used several coats of Bartley's gel varnish, rubbed out then waxed. Popped the grain nicely.

[Zahid Naqvi]

I have never used BLO before (talk about a newbie) but I remember reading something about BLO rags being highly inflamable and some kind of propper disposal is needed. I can probably put all the leftovers in an old can of paint and burn them.

Any specific storage warnings for BLO, I am sure the bottle/can will have instruction too.

thanks

[Tom Scott]

Zahid,
Yes, rags soaked with any finishing oil, including boiled linseed oil, are combustible since they give off heat as they cure. They are most susceptable to combustion when they are wadded up and the heat is concentrated.
You can either seal them in a metal container (depriving them of oxygen), put them in a container of water, or hang them to dry. I typically just hang them outside to dry, and then dispose.

Tom

[Jim Becker]

Zahid...rather than playing around with containers, put a big spike/nail in "something somewhere" on your property away from your shop and just hang the rags on them to dry by poking a hole...you want them to blow in the breeze. Once they are hard, just throw them in the trash. I use the Scott "box o rags" which is a lint-free paper product universally around the shop, including for applying finishes and this is how I safely dispose of them.

[Keith Christopher]

I'm much more dramatic when it comes to drying rags I'm just gonna throw away anyhow. I put them in the bbq pit and torch them. then I don't have to worry about them catching fire. :)

[Keith Christopher]

I posted a question over on the homestead finishing forum and this was Jeff Jewitt's reply.



<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=postbody vAlign=top>Boiled linseed oil first. One coat, let dry two days, then apply shellac or lacquer. Really pops the flake.



JJ

</TD></TR><TR><TD class=genmed vAlign=bottom><TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Just like Dave A suggested. :)