Anyone have any experience finishing Jatoba (other than floors).
I have some with pretty nice figure & plan on building a chest of drawers & blanket chest.
Looking before I build for some finishing ideas / examples
Thank You,
Scott
Anyone have any experience finishing Jatoba (other than floors).
I have some with pretty nice figure & plan on building a chest of drawers & blanket chest.
Looking before I build for some finishing ideas / examples
Thank You,
Scott
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Replies
For those pieces of furniture, I'd use a wipe-on varnish. You can make your own by thinning a standard varnish with naptha, or you can buy a pre-made one like Minwax's Wipe-on Poly.
One thing about jatoba is that it has a big color change -- even more than cherry. It still looks good when it is dark, but it might surprise you.
Thanks for the suggestion JamieScott
General Finishes, tung/poly x 3 laborious coatings.
An oil finish will bring out the grain, but since you are using this in a blanket chest and for drawers, if you use oil then you must seal it with shellac, too. If you don't you will get an unpleasent oil odor permeating everything stored in the drawers or chest.
You can skip the oil and just use shellac, but the grain won't be as enhanced.
Also, jatoba is very hard and you will need sharp tools. Don't try to use that old TS blade that hasn't been sharpened in 5 years...
Everyone has good suggestions, and to confirm the other guys input, I used a water-based poly, and it did darken more than expected, but was still beautiful. I would definately wear a mask while working/sanding, as someone told me that jatoba is more toxic than most other woods. I am a sucker and believe him.
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