Thread: done sanding and shaping...now what?

I have finished sanding my bubinga scales, I am wonder if I know use the CA method or use some sort of stain/oil? Any suggestions would help?

thanks
Luke

Ca always an option but you have to do it right to look good.
Other options are wipe on poly, tru oil, tung oil, shelac, and probably many more that I am not aware of. One of the important parts of the finishing job is the proper wood prep, e.g wiping all wood dust particles off the scales, making sure he surface is clean from the natural wood oils, no touchy with bare fingers etc.

these are the scales I need to finish



(thats fiber from the carpet tape hanging out the side)

from the pic it looks like those are finished with pretty rough sand paper?
you need to sand to 600 may be even 1500 depending on how smooth it looks.
I do not know the properties of the wood, but one way to go is soak in clear danish oil then sand with fine sandpaper and let the wood dust dry on the scales. This will fill the wood grain and will ensure smooth surface when you finish the scales. Try this on piece of scrap wood and see how it works before you do it on the scales.

Stefan,
what would you finish with in the end?

should I wet sand with wood or dry?

Originally Posted by eculuke

should I wet sand with wood or dry?

you take the wood out of the danish oil and wetsand then leave the wood dry.
I have done CA finish, also Wipe on poly it works well in both cases.
Again I have never worked with bubinga so you need to test all that on a piece of scrap wood.

I've never had a problem with any finishes sticking to bubinga. Some are open pore, but that just doesn't look like its sanded fine enough still.

That definitely doesn't look like it's sanded far enough. It looks like you stopped at 120 or 180. The given advice is good and I would go with it. There are infinite possibilities when it comes to finishing and which one to use is usually determined by level of protection, aesthetics, and ability/familiarity of finisher. Bubinga can have gum pockets so it might be worth wiping down with acetone if you use a wipe on finish. Obviously if you use danish oil you don't want to do this since you'd be soaking the wood.

I will definitely do some additional sanding progressions but I am heading to lowes in 2 hours and still don't have a clear picture of what to finish with? Spray on Poly, Wipe on? Oil? I know its preference, but I would love to hear what somebody would do in my shoes. I do have CA in my possession but that sounds like its not the most preferred method..