Padouk top laminate, Swamp Ash body, Tru-Oil finish... what am I missing?

[Bob Hoover Ross]

I'm planning a Warmoth body for a new fretless bass project, using an existing maple+ebony neck I have lying around, and ordering a new rear-routed Precision body. Was thinking Swamp Ash body with a Padouk top laminate, and I definitely don't want a glossy finish so will do Tru-Oil or tung oil or some such finish myself (god help me!)

But to be honest, I don't know dookie about wood or oil finishes, so I wanted to make sure I wasn't overlooking something obvious to those more knowledgeable...like, I dunno, "Swamp Ash is too porous for an oil finish so you'll wind up with a piece of wood that feels like a wet sponge", or maybe "When Padouk & Swamp Ash touch they cause the immediate destruction of all matter in the universe"

Anything like that that I need to be concerned about?  Thanks.

 

[stratamania]

Well swamp ash has a grain that will need a sealer, Birchwood Casey make a sealer filler which is part of their tru oil products. You may need two to three coats before moving onto the tru oil.

 

[Cagey]

"When Padouk & Swamp Ash touch they cause the immediate destruction of all matter in the universe"

Don't be silly. At most, a couple city blocks will be irreversibly transformed to rubble. In Detroit, we used to call that "Tuesday night".

 

[line6man]

Padauk is very open grained, so make sure there is no glossiness in your finish, or it will look terrible without grainfill.
Personally, I would grainfill the Ash, or maybe both woods.

 

[Bob Hoover Ross]

Padauk is very open grained, so make sure there is no glossiness in your finish, or it will look terrible without grainfill.
Personally, I would grainfill the Ash, or maybe both woods.

Do you have a preferred "grainfill" product to use in conjunction with Tru-Oil?

 

[bagman67]

Some folks use the Tru-Oil itself and sandpaper to generate a paste with the sanding dust combined with the finish.  This obviously is not the right choice when you have strongly contrasting colored woods - padauk on the one side and ash on the other -  because you stand a good chance of having irregularly contrasting filler in the pores.


So - a better idea is to use a clear filler, such as Crystalac, or clear epoxy such as Zpoxy, or cyanoacrylate (aka "super") glue in gel form.

 

[line6man]

Do you have a preferred "grainfill" product to use in conjunction with Tru-Oil?

Sorry, I have never done a Tru-Oil finish.

Some folks use the Tru-Oil itself and sandpaper to generate a paste with the sanding dust combined with the finish.  This obviously is not the right choice when you have strongly contrasting colored woods - padauk on the one side and ash on the other -  because you stand a good chance of having irregularly contrasting filler in the pores.


So - a better idea is to use a clear filler, such as Crystalac, or clear epoxy such as Zpoxy, or cyanoacrylate (aka "super") glue in gel form.

Good observation. Padauk gives bright orange sawdust that gets into everything. You don't want any of it getting into your Ash.