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Thread: Zebrawood Finish Recommendations

  1. Zebrawood Finish Recommendations

    I recently completed assembly and glue up of a wooden surround for a vintage Marantz receiver I own. The piece is double dovetail construction made mostly of zebrawood with walnut trim. It was my first time working with zebrawood. I need to finish sand the piece yet, but I think it turned out alright. Here’s a picture:
    Marantz Surround.jpg

    It’s a little hard to see in the picture but the panels are laminated with walnut trim on the front and back edges as well (the edges at top and bottom of the picture). On the front edge (top of the picture), there is 1/2” zebrawood nose attached to the walnut lamination to finish off the opening where the receiver slides in.
    Anyway, I am looking for recommendations on finishing this piece. I have been finishing some pieces lately with BLO and rattle can lacquer topcoat, but the BLO samples I made on the zebrawood scraps in this case diminish the contrast with the walnut. I am working right now on two other samples one with gloss and one with semi-gloss Arm-R-Seal applied directly to the raw wood. I have never used that product but it seems to be maintaining the contrast better. My goal for the finish is twofold. I’d like to (1) pop the zebrawood grain and (2) maintain/enhance the contrast between the zebrawood and walnut. I am looking for suggestions on products and techniques to do that. For what it’s worth, a piece of brown painted perforated steel slides into the groove in that U-shaped opening on top of the piece.
    Also, if it matters, I do not use the amplifier section of the receiver. It operates only as a pre-amp, so there shouldn’t be too much of a heat issue to worry about when recommending finishes and I also don’t plan on finishing the interior.
    I appreciate the help.

  2. #2
    Waterlox Original Sealer Finish. It will do everything you're looking for.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
    Posts
    65,680
    I'm with Prashun on Waterlox or similar for this kind of project. It's the "easy button" for finishing attractive wood like that. Alternatively, BLO to pop the color, wax-free shellac to seal and the waterborne finish of your choice for top coat. BLO and shellac are also a good combination if you have the time and skill to apply the shellac well.

    That's going to look stunning once you pop it!
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  4. Thanks for the recommendation on the Waterlox. I'll pick some up this weekend and give it a test. Is it an all in one solution, or is there a top coat I should be using after it cures? Any tips on application?

    I will say that the gloss Arm-R-Seal looks pretty good right now too.

  5. #5
    It’s an all in one solution. Beware there are two versions : original sealer finish (original formula) and original sealer finish (voc compliant formula). I have only used the original formula successfully.

  6. Thank you both for your input and recommending the Waterlox. It gave me the exact finish I was looking for. Here's a handful of photos of the finished product. I really like how it turned out with one exception. I laminated thin strips of walnut to the front and back of all four sides with the idea being it would finish off the walnut trim in the dovetail joints by closing it all off. There is zebrawood nose attached ot that on the front, but regardless I should have figured out a way so that the end grain of the laminates was exposed like with the trim. Because I did not, the walnut in the laminate pieces did not darken as much as that in the dovetail trim. Live and learn - but I'm still pretty happy with it.

    Marantz Top.jpgMarantz Side.jpgMarantz Installed.jpgMarantz In Cabinet.jpg

    Thanks again for the help.

  7. #7
    Nice looking cabinet. Wow a 22xx series Marantz receiver, I got a old 2270 kicking around somewhere..

  8. Quote Originally Posted by Robert LaPlaca View Post
    Nice looking cabinet. Wow a 22xx series Marantz receiver, I got a old 2270 kicking around somewhere..
    Thanks.

    You should find your 2270, dust it off, and see if it works. Mine is one of the "Baby Marantz" receivers. Small amp section and small in size, but I only use mine as a phono preamp.

    The 2270, in good condition, will fetch a pretty penny on ebay and other vintage electronics websites (more than $1,000 I would guess).

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Christopher Dombrowicki View Post
    Thanks.

    You should find your 2270, dust it off, and see if it works. Mine is one of the "Baby Marantz" receivers. Small amp section and small in size, but I only use mine as a phono preamp.

    The 2270, in good condition, will fetch a pretty penny on ebay and other vintage electronics websites (more than $1,000 I would guess).
    Cool, thanks for the tip.. If you like vintage HiFi stuff, the Marantz receiver was replaced by some Great American Sound (GAS] equipment.

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