Hello all, and thanks in advance for any advice you can provide.
I’ve built a picture frame for my wife out of koa, with nice figure and grain wrap-around. I sanded to 320. I’ve put on two coats of shellac, which really enhanced the grain when it was wet. Now that it’s dry, though, the grain is much more subdued. Looking back at a Before picture, the grain stands out more with naked wood than with the shellac.
So, two questions:
1. If I just sand down the shellac and try something different, do I have to worry about residual shellac in the pores/joints etc. tainting later coats?
2. I read lots of helpful prior posts on finishing koa, with much back and forth about using boiled linseed oil or another oil-based product first. How will these products do following my sanded-off shellac? Since this will be an out-of-the-way object, look will trump durability. Any other thoughts on a finish that will really make the grain pop?
Thanks!
Jeff
Replies
Portrait
You make a frame for your Wife with a picture of yourself - OK - why not. - Good Man !
The more gloss the finish has - the more it seems to enhance the grain. However to really pop the grain you would have needed to dye stain the wood before the shellac. For now - if you want to redue the finish - it's OK to sand off the shellac - don't worry about the shellac in the grain. Paint remover would be easier of course for a complete redue. A Danish finish would need to go on raw wood without a shellac sealer.
Before redue try this = lightly sand the shellac and apply two coats of a gloss wiping varnish and see if the gloss brings up the luster enough to satisfy the loss in grain contrast you noticed. Trying this won't hinder a complete redue if it's not to your liking.
Just wipe off the Shellac
with denatured alcohol.
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