Sapele finishing

[CandorLush]

I am working on figuring out my finish the metric S-ton of sapele for this project and thought I should ask for some ideas and/or make sure I am on the right course. I am about to make up some sample boards which I will be doing in thirds; Bare wood, pore filled with Aqua Coat Clear, and pore filled with Timbermate Mahogany.

I am planing on doing the following:
1) Wacto natural Danish oil topped with spray lacquer(rattle can, probably Watco, I don't have HVLP)
2) Wacto natural Danish oil topped with dewaxed blonde shellac (The project won't end up being shellac but since I will be finishing already....)
3) Arm R Seal
4) Enduro-var

Anything else I should either try or take off the list?

Thanks!

[wdwerker]

Make sure to wipe off the excess Watco and allow plenty of time for drying.  Leaving a layer of Danish oil on the surface is a common mistake that leads to excessive drying times and poor results.

I always use scraps from the project to make finish samples. Test for dryness on the samples to prevent fingerprints. You can also practice a finish repair on a sample before you apply it to the actual project.

[treeslayer]

i've used danish oil on some projects but i don't think this piece is one i would use oil on, i would just use ARS or shellac if you prefer that finish, oil takes a long time to dry before you topcoat it with anything else, ARS dries fairly quick, shellac drys while you are looking at it. save yourself some headaches and skip the oil IMO.

[gee-dub]

Oil / varnish blend:

[BonPacific]

I've done the Danish Oil + Lacquer finish a few times, not on Sapele though. In general, adding the oil brings a bit more richness to the color, though with Sapaele, you probably don't need it. Remember that using oil will add at least 3 days to your finishing process, to let it dry and cure. Depending on your climate, it could take longer than that to lose it's smell.

If you use rattle-can Lacquer, go for Deft, it really is the best out there. I usually do 4 coats, sand it smooth with 600 grit, and top-coat.

[Just Bob]

Lacquer over shellac. 

[CandorLush]

Thank you very much, everyone, I love the pictures, I can't wait to see all of this ribbon stripe with finish. 

I have a 10"x26" piece of glued up scrap from cutting the top to size, if I rip it to 4 - 6"x10" pieces would that be big enough to work with? 

I really like the look of the oil from gee-dub but drying and offgassing time is a mild concern for my basement-under-the-bedroom shop.

[Just Bob]

10 minutes ago, CandorLush said:

Thank you very much, everyone, I love the pictures, I can't wait to see all of this ribbon stripe with finish. 

I have a 10"x26" piece of glued up scrap from cutting the top to size, if I rip it to 4 - 6"x10" pieces would that be big enough to work with? 

I really like the look of the oil from gee-dub but drying and offgassing time is a mild concern for my basement-under-the-bedroom shop.

That is about what I did for my test pieces.  I had a hard time picking my favorite, but since this was for the boss, I had her pick.  Took her about 3 seconds. Just saying a second set of eyes really helps.

[estesbubba]

For darker woods I'm really liking garnet shellac with waterborne topcoats. It gives the rich look of oil but can be completed in a day with no odor once dry. 

[wnaziri]

Here is the end product:

I did a wash coat of dewaxed shellac followed by about 3 coats of ARS.  This combo really brought the sapele to life.

[Just Bob]

Well done!

[RichardA]

Excellent !

[gee-dub]

Beautiful.  A wonderful piece and the finish came out really great.  I find myself liking sepele and sipo more and more.  It does continue to darken with age so no coloration is really required which always appeals to me. 

[Jim DaddyO]

That looks great.

[pkinneb]

That looks great! 

[CandorLush]

12 hours ago, wnaziri said:

Here is the end product:

I did a wash coat of dewaxed shellac followed by about 3 coats of ARS.  This combo really brought the sapele to life.

Love how that turned out and it is actually very similar to my project, Thanks, Wade!

5 hours ago, gee-dub said:

Beautiful.  A wonderful piece and the finish came out really great.  I find myself liking sepele and sipo more and more.  It does continue to darken with age so no coloration is really required which always appeals to me. 

You can really see the contrast from JustBob's piece to your piece with just how much the depth of color can change. I am glad this is for a good friend of mine so I can watch how it ages.

[CandorLush]

 Second coat of ARS is on, the Danish oil is curing but the endurovar is done. So far, not a fan timbermate but only because the mahogany color is too red, it filled the pores great but I would want to dye it more of the brown/gold that the sapele ends up.

Poor lighting for the board but it was the best that showed how obvious the timbermate was to me. The bottom third is barewood, the middle is timbermate, the top is the aquacoat and I also ended up doing a light 1# coat of shellac on the right half of all of the boards so there are 6 different finishes on each board.

[Brendon_t]

Number 15 what you pick up a small thing of black for ash grey timbermate. On the mahogany family woods I think that looks amazing

[CandorLush]

15 minutes ago, Brendon_t said:

Number 15 what you pick up a small thing of black for ash grey timbermate. On the mahogany family woods I think that looks amazing

The RIT black?

[Brendon_t]

And if you're trying ARS, I'd say to skip endurovar. Without an hvlp, in my testing, Enduro doesn't lay down nearly as well as ars

[CandorLush]

40 minutes ago, Brendon_t said:

And if you're trying ARS, I'd say to skip endurovar. Without an hvlp, in my testing, Enduro doesn't lay down nearly as well as ars

The only finishing I have ever done prior is some big box minwax stain and one set of wall shelves with milk paint so I grabbed a a few pints of the products I heard mentioned the most so I can start seeing how they look and how they work. So far I am liking the Aquacoat-Shellac-ARS board, but it still needs another coat before I can start comparing them all properly 

[CandorLush]

I will see if I can get some good pictures of all of the boards tonight but, so far, ARS is a CLEAR winner and the section with the AquaCoat filler/Shellac wash first looks the best to me. I am meeting up with the client this weekend and will be dropping them off with him so he can pick the one that works best for him.

@Brendon_t you were spot on with the endurovar, it just looks flat next to the ARS

[Jeff the wood hack]

I am replacing the wood in ab old restored pickup truck bed. 

It's a 1955 truck that I have owned for 30 years. 

when I first got it the original yellow pine was only a ghost of what it originally was.  took out whatever was left and used white oak stained with golden oak, then coated with a dozen or more coats of polyurethane.  At that time I didn't know that the oak was probably a poor choice or that the poly wouldn't stan up to weather. 

there are a few who are surprised that it lasted and looked good for nearly 20 years. 

Now it's shot, my polished SS strips and hardware still look great  

After looking at various hardwoods  I liked the appearance of brazilian cherry in the high gloss black surface of the truck   the cherry seems hard to get locally unless buying a lot more than I need   

A local hardwood shop suggested quarter sawn sapele which he has a very good supply of and will be a reasonable price  

if I want a red tone similar to the cherry and a gloss, how do you experts recommend finishing with?  

It will be outdoors but covered