Splotchiness on ash sides

[wormbot]

I'm on my 4th coat of tinted Tung Oil finish (dark walnut color). I really dig the tone it gives to the roasted swamp ash. However, I have a hard time with the sides. The wood doesn't absorb evenly. I had 2 kit bodies finished previously and I struggled with those same areas.

Anyone has an idea how to fix this? If I had applied a really thin coat of shellac on the sides, would have this happened? Or just accept it and call it a day?

 

[BroccoliRob]

yeah wood can be pretty weird. Mother Nature was the original troll

 

[ragamuffin]

Looks like normal imperfections/varying densities in the wood

 

[Spud]

I can barely see anything. Looks good to me!

 

[TBurst Std]

Ash tends to go blotchy. Sanding Sealer before application is a possible solution.

I agree with the Tater, I say it looks good and highlights it.

 

[wormbot]

Ok thanks I feel better. I'll stop worrying about this and continue with my schedule!

 

[Rick]

Normal

 

[teleme01]

character

 

[Dero08]

I have a similar problem with this mahogany body … I did the exact same process on a test piece, which came out great:

1. sanded to 320
2. Pore filled with timbermate walnut
3. tru-oil finish

why does it look so bad?

test mahogany:

https://flic.kr/p/2o9qsB7

warmoth mahogany body, raised grain before pore fill:

https://flic.kr/p/2o9sDvm

six coats of tru oil:

https://flic.kr/p/2o9nV28

 

[stratamania]

@Dero08 Test pieces of thin veneer will act differently to a thicker piece of wood where there is more depth and variation for things to soak into. For tru-oil on more porous woods, I like to start with Birchwood Casey's Sealer and Filler prior to the Tru-oil itself. Also prior to that use white spirits or naptha as a cleaner to ensure there are no residues from fingermarks and handling etc.

 

[Dero08]

@Dero08 Test pieces of thin veneer will act differently to a thicker piece of wood where there is more depth and variation for things to soak into. For tru-oil on more porous woods, I like to start with Birchwood Casey's Sealer and Filler prior to the Tru-oil itself. Also prior to that use white spirits or naptha as a cleaner to ensure there are no residues from fingermarks and handling etc.

Thank you for the tips! I was hesitant to wipe with mineral spirits because the timbermate is water-based. on the other side of that test piece (which is not a veneer. It’s around 1/4 - 1/2” solid mahogany) I pore filled with aquacoat, then wiped with mineral spirits after sanding. it reacted badly and got super cloudy. the aquacoat ended up not being a good option anyways because it doesn’t take oil finishes well … I tried TO, Danish oil, and polymerized tung oil.

should I try to sand it all off and try again?

 

[ragamuffin]

I have a similar problem with this mahogany body … I did the exact same process on a test piece, which came out great:

1. sanded to 320
2. Pore filled with timbermate walnut
3. tru-oil finish

why does it look so bad?

test mahogany:

https://flic.kr/p/2o9qsB7

warmoth mahogany body, raised grain before pore fill:

https://flic.kr/p/2o9sDvm

six coats of tru oil:

https://flic.kr/p/2o9nV28

I think you just have a case of two very different grain patterns. The test piece has sort of a "ribbon" figure while the body has mottling/light quilting in the upper half. Personally I think the body looks really cool!

 

[Dero08]

I think you just have a case of two very different grain patterns. The test piece has sort of a "ribbon" figure while the body has mottling/light quilting in the upper half. Personally I think the body looks really cool!

Thanks! It does look pretty cool in the light … it goes from gold to brown depending on how the light reflects. The thought of sanding back and starting over is a little depressing. Not really sure it would fix it either. If you look at the bare wood, you can see the areas on the bottom and contour that look different. I sanded over those a ton and it didn’t make a difference. It might be Mother Nature trolling me, as Rob stated above.

 

[stratamania]

Thank you for the tips! I was hesitant to wipe with mineral spirits because the timbermate is water-based. on the other side of that test piece (which is not a veneer. It’s around 1/4 - 1/2” solid mahogany) I pore filled with aquacoat, then wiped with mineral spirits after sanding. it reacted badly and got super cloudy. the aquacoat ended up not being a good option anyways because it doesn’t take oil finishes well … I tried TO, Danish oil, and polymerized tung oil.

should I try to sand it all off and try again?

I don't think you need to sand it off. I would have used mineral spirits to wipe down the bare wood, then the Birchwood Casey Filler and Sealer, and then TO. I would not have used timbermate in this case as a grain filler. But either way I also think it looks an interesting piece of wood and a clear finish cannot mask the characteristics of the wood itself, only accentuate it. Likewise, I did wonder if the blotchiness asked about was something in addition to what can be seen in the bare wood's grain pattern and characteristics of the wood itself.