What to use to finish a Wenge wood box?

[Brian Leavitt]

Hello all,
First I have to say that I am pretty much a novice with woodworking in general. I am an engraver by trade, but do enjoy doing wood projects. For the one I am currently working on, I want to make sure this thing comes out as nice as possible.

What I have here is what is essentially a box made from Wenge wood. I have not yet finished the fabrication stage as I still want to round over all of the exterior edges and I have to cut out a few holes for attaching parts.
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I laminated two pieces together, sliced off a lid, and used the router table to hollow out the base as best I could. The lid is going to be held on with magnets in the corners. What I'm wondering is what would be best to apply to the wood to seal it and prevent it from deforming with changes in temperature and humidity. This especially applies to the lid as it has already bowed since last night. In the end, the inside is going to contain some electronics. I want to have a nice, smooth, high gloss finish on the outside.

Is there anything that you all could recommend, that I might be able to get from Lowes or Home Depot, which would work well to seal the inside and provide the smooth, glossy finish I want for the outside? This is going to be a hand-carried device so it needs to be comfortable to hold.

Thank You,
B

[Dave Novak]

I've used quite a bit of wenge on several projects. I've had outstanding results with both oil based (Behlen's) and water based finishes (General Finishes Enduro-var).

[Mark Kornell]

Wood moves with changes in humidity - temperature has no effect until you get close to ignition point.

Finishes only serve to slow down the rate of moisture absorption/discharge. They don't eliminate the process.

The only way to truly deal with wood movement is to construct in a way that recognizes it will happen and allow for it.

That being said, there aren't any issues with your box. The wood will expand and contract as a unit. Depending on how tight a fit the items in the box are, you may find the box pinching the contents on occasion.

The top, however, will warp. It is a thin, flatsawn piece, which is about a worst-case scenario for demonstrating the impact of wood movement due to humidity changes. No amount of finish will eliminate that, unfortunately.

How "smooth" do you mean? Wenge has large pores, and if your intention is to fill those pores to get a truly smooth surface, you will need to use a pore filler prior to any other finishing.

Regardless of pore filling, you can use just about any finish on Wenge. To get a glossier look, the easiest might be to use a spray bomb lacquer finish (should be available at any hardware store in the wood finishing section). A polyurethane (brush or wipe on) works well, too.

[Brian Leavitt]

Thank you, gentlemen. I know I'm showing my total lack of experience. Maybe it would be better for me to skip the wood cover and use anodized aluminum instead. I'll have to see how that looks. I noticed the very large pores. I've never seen a pore filler, though. I'll have to look into that one. I did factor in some extra room inside the box for expansion/contraction so I'm not worried about the internals.

Thank you again,
B