finishing padouk

[chuck7]

I just ordered a Warmoth Pro neck in padouk with a ziricote finger board.  I plan to leave the vast majority of it unifnished, but I would like to arrest the browning on the peg face.  One of the reasons I chose padouk was that it will match up nicely with the fire burst on the body I ordered, and I would like to keep it that way

My question is, what is be best way to go about finishing the peg face that will best arrest the browning, and give me a nice high gloss?  Should I just slap on a few coats of poly?  Tung oil? 

The guy I talked to when ordering it said that padouk just wont take a finish, so I want to be sure I attack it the right way. 

 

[willyk]

I built a walnut tele with a padouk top and padouk/ebony neck. I finished it with satin poly because I didn't want the padouk to go brown. 12months on and it's as orange as it ever was.

I wasn't after a gloss finish and I wanted to retain the open grain look of the raw padouk so I went for satin with no filling or sealing. For a gloss headstock face you will need  a bit more surface preparation than I found necessary. :icon_thumright:

 

[chuck7]

willyk, thanks for the info. 

I do want a smooth finish, so I think I will have to do a pass or two with a clear grain filler, then apply the poly.  A lot of posts here seem to indicate a sealer is needed as well, but I have seen a few wood working sites that indicate you can go straight from the filler to the final finish.  Any body know if there is a major issue with not having a layer of sealer?

 

[jackthehack]

Play it a while raw before applying finish, you may wind up preferring it that way. To simply arrest oxidation/"browning",  a thin coat of WATCO Danish Oil onec in a while will do the trick.

 

[dbw]

jack, I think he's only talking about the pegface.  Make sure to post pics ASAP chuck!

 

[willyk]

I would use sealer for that job chuck7. I suspect you are after a clearly defined contrast between the finish of the headstock face and the, eventually, oxidised remaining neck wood right?  That being the case, it would lessen the risk of that outline being blurred by the finish, and therefore the protection bleeding into the wood on the sides of the headstock.