Help with Finish on a Black Korina VIP

[shasmo]

Thanks Cagey and Stratamania! I have a scrap with tru oil on it. Will try using the sealer on the same.

 

[Cagey]

Just be patient and work deliberately. More finishes end up disappointing from misguided efforts to skip steps and/or save time than anything else. Finishing is tedious work that takes time, so spend it. I'm sure it'll come out great if you do.

 

[Hendrix]

I've dyed black Limba successfully without any heroic measures. But, as has been pointed out, it's a pretty open-grained wood so you can sand it until the cows come home and it's never going to get a level surface. You have to use a grain filler. It's not a putty or anything like that, it's sorta like a high viscosity coating that you apply and squeegee off, then sand to remove any imperfections.

Usually, you seal the wood with a wash coat or a sanding sealer to prevent the wood from absorbing the filler, apply it, sand it back, and see if you're happy. With some woods, like Mahogany, Swamp Ash or Korina, you might need a second application to get the surface as level as needed for a fine finish surface.

Once you're there, you can stain if desired, or apply color coats, then clear coats. Finish sand and buff out, and smile at the sky.

This is a black Korina VIP I did a few years back that I dyed a dark red before applying clear lacquer...

Cagey, for this unfinished VIP , should I  dyed the maple top first , apply grain filler before clear coat ? or apply grain filler before dye ?

 

[bagman67]

Hey, Hendrix -

Since that top is figured maple, you won't need to fill it.  If we're only talking about the top, here's how I would approach it:

1.  Mask
2.  Dye the top
3.  Seal with shellac or other sealant
4.  Scrape binding if necessary
5.  Apply clear coats to taste

If you plan on dyeing the back, my process would be:

1.  Mask, then dye the wood
2.  Seal using shellac or the sealer of your choice
3.  Fill the grain
4.  Unmask and scrape binding as necessary
5.  Clear coats

But mahogany without any particular figure might be easier to do with a tinted toner.  In that case, I'd go:

1.  Mask, then seal
2.  Grain fill
3.  Tinted toner
4.  Remove mask
5.  Scrape binding if necessary
6.  Clear coats.

The reason I would seal before using grain filler is that the grain filler might change the color of the wood in ways you don't anticipate and maybe don't want.  Sealer will prevent that.

 

[Cagey]

This one's easy - Maple doesn't need a grain filler at all. It's a pretty fine-grained wood that the finish will fill on its own. What is unusual about Maple is it doesn't always take stain evenly, so depending on what you're trying to do, you may want to seal it first to prevent a "splotchy" or irregular appearance. But, usually with figured (curly or quilted) Maple, you don't even seal it because you're probably going to sand it back and re-stain to enhance the figuring. Once you've got it stained the way you want it, you could apply a coat or two of clear sanding sealer and level sand that, then start with your finishing clear coats.

edit - I see you already got an answer while I was contemplating :laughing7:

 

[Hendrix]

OK , thanks  Bagman67 and Cagey  ccasion14:

 

[Steve_Karl]

I seal before every application of grain filler
and Korina should need 2 or more applications of grain filler if you really want to get it smooth.

 

[shasmo]

Hi Folks... so after sanding it back down to wood, i used a couple of coats of Minwax Red chestnut stain, let is dry and sprayed is with a few coats of Nitro... i think i have it where i want it to be. Now, for it to let it cure before i can polish it to an even sheen and start working on the mahogany back. Here are few pictures

 

[shasmo]

Not the best lighting for the pictures, but i will post a few more in a week as the finish cures.

 

[Hendrix]

Hi Folks... so after sanding it back down to wood, i used a couple of coats of Minwax Red chestnut stain, let is dry and sprayed is with a few coats of Nitro... i think i have it where i want it to be. Now, for it to let it cure before i can polish it to an even sheen and start working on the mahogany back. Here are few pictures

look nice  :hello2: look forward for the finish look  :glasses10:

 

[BigSteve22]

Nice color, certainly shows off the grain!  :icon_thumright:

 

[kinski]

I love the finish with the Minwax Red chestnut! Did you use any filler, or was it just the raw unfinished korina with Minwax Red chestnut stain and nitro?

 

[shasmo]

@ kinski. no filler, raw korina with minwas stain and nitro. Several coats of nitro and sanding between a few to fill the grain