# Finish for Gaboon Ebony ?



## manbuckwal (Nov 23, 2013)

Had a co-worker ask me to make him a Chrome bullet pen/pencil set using Gaboon Ebony . I have no experience yet with this wood I bought from treecycle . What is recommended to finish with ? Still getting frustrated trying to use CA as a finish . Should a sanding sealer be used ? This is what I have on hand : WOP, Mylands friction polish, Mylands Sanding sealer, Lacguer Spray, EEE, Paste Wax. Thanks for the help !!!!


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## SENC (Nov 23, 2013)

CA looks great if you can get it right... the deep black and high gloss combination does shoe every flaw, though. I've used tung oil with a coat of wax with good success, too.

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## manbuckwal (Nov 23, 2013)

SENC said:


> CA looks great if you can get it right... the deep black and high gloss combination does shoe every flaw, though. I've used tung oil with a coat of wax with good success, too.


Thanks for the reply Henry. Does that finish hold up well ???


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## barry richardson (Nov 23, 2013)

I use Lacquer for all oily woods like that, other than CA for pens. I've removed the blanks pieces from the mandrell and sprayed them with lacquer which works well too. several light coats. The trouble with lacquer is that it takes a long time to cure enough to polish it, and you can burn through the lacquer with too much friction if your not careful. but it can leave a pretty good shine even without buffing. The friction polish finishes are definitely not durable, CA is king for that. As a noob pen turner myself, I say don't give up on the CA finish. I think I finally have something figured out that works for me. I sand to 400, apply 3 or 4 coats of medium CA, spraying with accelerator, but not sanding, between each coat. Then wet sand it with 400 again to level it out, then move up the grits till polished. I only wet sand with the 400.


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## manbuckwal (Nov 23, 2013)

barry richardson said:


> I use Lacquer for all oily woods like that, other than CA for pens. I've removed the blanks pieces from the mandrell and sprayed them with lacquer which works well too. several light coats. The trouble with lacquer is that it takes a long time to cure enough to polish it, and you can burn through the lacquer with too much friction if your not careful. but it can leave a pretty good shine even without buffing. The friction polish finishes are definitely not durable, CA is king for that. As a noob pen turner myself, I say don't give up on the CA finish. I think I finally have something figured out that works for me. I sand to 400, apply 3 or 4 coats of medium CA, spraying with accelerator, but not sanding, between each coat. Then wet sand it with 400 again to level it out, then move up the grits till polished. I only wet sand with the 400.


Thanks Barry ! I'm not going to give up on it yet lol . Should a sanding sealer be prior to applying the lacquer ?


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## SENC (Nov 23, 2013)

Tung oil (pure) is an extremely durable finish, but it does require multiple coats with cure time in between. It is my favorite finish for duck calls that are exposed to abuse. It is not a gloss finish, though buffing and waxing add plenty of gloss for my taste. The biggest benefit is this finish is easy to refresh later, whether by rewaxing or by stripping the wax and re-oiling.

I only use CA when someone really wants a high gloss finish, like the one I'm doing for you. It is a hard, durable finish - but because it is hard, brittle, and glossy, it shows scratches and is subject to chipping if dropped/dinged. It is also hard to refinish if that becomes necessary. But ut is beautiful.

The best CA tutorial I've seen is on youtube - search for wingerts woodworks and you'll find a seties of CA ginishing videos. My process is almost identical, except final polishing. As I recall, he buffs. I wetsand through the entire course of micromesh. Good luck!

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## SENC (Nov 23, 2013)

Oh - CA can be funny on oily woods (any moisture can cause it to bubble and/or get cloudy). After sanding and before applying the first coat of CA, I wipe down the piece with acetone to remove oils (including those from my fingers) and let that flash off.

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## manbuckwal (Nov 23, 2013)

Th


SENC said:


> Oh - CA can be funny on oily woods (any moisture can cause it to bubble and/or get cloudy). After sanding and before applying the first coat of CA, I wipe down the piece with acetone to remove oils (including those from my fingers) and let that flash off.


Thanks for the info !!!


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## barry richardson (Nov 23, 2013)

manbuckwal said:


> Thanks Barry ! I'm not going to give up on it yet lol . Should a sanding sealer be prior to applying the lacquer ?


 not necessary IMO


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## Treecycle Hardwoods (Dec 4, 2013)

Acetone can be used to remove some natural oil but I am not sure if it will mess with the color. The oily woods are tricky The pen makers I know thru my turning club teach people not to heat the blank up as it will draw new oil to the surface. I would say never use an oil to finish an oily wood. It will take forever and then some to dry. I learned that hard way and fubared several ABW turnings.


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## Woodman (Dec 4, 2013)

I got this off the internet many years ago and I send it to people who ask how to finish oily woods. You may find one sentence in this long verse that helps you, I hope so. For items that are going to be handled you can ignore the last suggestion of just using wax, that's for an item that may sit on a bookshelf and never get touched.
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*Traditionally, some of the world’s most colorful woods like rosewood, teak, ebony and cocobolo are often used to build musical instruments, decorative boxes, jewelry, accents and trim on furniture. Recently though, many of these woods are being used to build whole pieces or sets of custom furniture. As more are being used by not only professional but amateur woodworkers, many people are running into difficulty when it comes to finishing of these woods.
The main problem lies in the natural oils and resins that are contained within woods like rosewood, teak cocobolo, etc. The oils create two main problems.
1. When oil based finishes like varnish, polyurethane, Danish oil finishes, and others are applied over the wood, the finish sometimes takes a very long time to dry. All of these type of oil based finishes dry by absorbing oxygen. The natural oils and resins contained in exotic woods will slow down the drying time by retarding the absorption of oxygen into the finish. Sometimes, if you happen to get stuck with a very oil piece of wood, the finish may stay tacky for weeks.
2. Adhesion. While other finishes like nitrocellulose lacquers, pre-catalyzed lacquers and water based finishes dry better over oily woods, the oils may prevent these finishes from adhering properly to the raw wood.
Below, I have included a few different types of finishes and finishing techniques that I have had success with, but first, before applying any finish, you must perform the following steps to remove any oils that may be on the surface of the wood.
1. After preparing the wood by usual methods of sanding, clean all sawdust off the surface.
2. Using a rag lightly dampened with a quick evaporating solvent like acetone, lacquer thinner or denatured alcohol, wipe the whole surface down. This gets all the natural oils off the surface of the wood, but you must work quickly to apply your first coat of finish, for if you don’t more natural oils will bleed onto the surface.
While many exotic woods are rarely stained, because the natural color of the wood is so appealing, all have to have some type of finish applied to protect against abrasion, moisture, dirt, dust and sunlight. Over the years, I have had the opportunity to try many finishes and finishing techniques over oily woods, and I have had the most success with the following:*
*1. Shellac Sealer / Natural Resin Varnish Finish. *
*If you are going to be finishing a piece of furniture that is going to get a lot of use, (like a table) you will want to use some type of topcoat finish that will protect it against abrasion, as well as spills, dirt and dust along with making it easy to maintain. This finish has worked well for me. After wiping down the surface with quick evaporating solvent, (acetone, lacquer thinner) apply two thin coats of shellac. I use 3 lb. cut clear shellac and reduce it 50/50 with denatured alcohol. Apply the two coats by either spraying or brushing with high quality natural or china bristle brush. Let first coat dry about 2 hours before applying second coat. This will seal the surface and prevent any more natural oils in the wood from bleeding back to the top. Let these two coats dry at least 2 days. Lightly scuff sand the shellac with 400 grit paper. And wipe dust off surface. Next, apply 2 to three coats of a natural resin varnish. DO NOT USE A POLYURETHANE OR ANY VARNISH THAT HAS POLYURETHANE IN IT. IT MAY NOT ADHERE TO SHELLAC. I use a varnish manufactured by H Behlen & Bro. This is called Behlen’s Rock Hard Table Top Varnish. It is a natural resin varnish that contains no poly. Reduce each coat approx. 20 percent with Behlen’s Rock Hard Reducer. This works out to 4 parts varnish and 1 part reducer. I use a foam brush to apply this varnish, but if you are used to using a bristle brush and get good results, stick with it. Let each coat dry at least 24 hours (longer if you are in a humid area). Scuff sand very lightly with 320 grit paper between coats. After the last coat is applied, if the sheen does not look even, you may apply a few additional coats until you achieve a uniform sheen. This is a gloss varnish, if you wish to obtain a semi-gloss or satin finish, simply wait about 2 weeks for the finish to cure and then rub out with 600 grit paper and rubbing oil or use 0000 steel wool or Scotchbrite or Sunbrite (these are synthetic non-woven abrasive pads that replace steel wool. Purchase the fine type. The light gray color is usually equivalent to 000 or 0000 steel wool. If desired, you may also apply a coat of high quality paste wax after rubbing.*
*2. Shellac / Wax Finish *
*On furniture or wooden objects that don’t need maximum protection such as a wall clock, dresser or just trim, I have often just used a few coats of shellac and the applied a coat of paste wax over it. After wiping down the surface with quick evaporating solvent, (acetone, lacquer thinner) 
apply four thin coats of shellac using the same mixture and process as described in the previous process. Let the four coats of shellac dry at least 3 days, Then sand lightly first with 320 grit paper to remove any dust nibs and smooth out any brush marks. After sanding with 320, use 600 grit to smooth the surface and leave a mellow sheen. Wipe off dust and apply a coat of high quality paste wax such as Briwax or Antique Wax. Apply the wax with a soft lint free cotton cloth, let it haze over, then buff it out with a clean cotton cloth. This technique will yield a very mellow, low luster finish that is beautiful not only to look at but to touch.*
*3. For A Natural Look- Simply Wax *
*When I have to finish a decorative wooden object that will not be handled much, therefore needs little protection but also has to look and feel as close as possible to its natural appearance, I simply apply a paste wax only. Here the color of the wax is important. If you are finishing a lighter colored wood such as teak, use a natural or clear colored paste wax so the natural color will not change much. On the other hand, if you are finishing a darker wood, such as rosewood or cocobolo, I suggest you use one of the colored colored waxes, such as Briwax. If you use a light colored wax on dark woods, the wax may build in the pores and make the pores appear light. Dark wax will blend in better with darker woods and even accent the pores. Briwax comes in a number of colors. Along with clear, it is available in Dark Brown, Light Brown, Antique Mahogany (reddish brown good for rosewoods), Golden Oak and other colors.
REMEMBER. ALWAYS TEST FINISHES AND FINISHING TECHNIQUES ON SCRAP BEFORE USING THEM ON YOUR GOOD WORK.*

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## Treecycle Hardwoods (Dec 4, 2013)

That is some awesome info. That info should almost be a sticky in the finishing section as many ww have encountered this problem. Great post!


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## barry richardson (Dec 4, 2013)

Very in depth! sounds like a lotta work though, seems like there has gotta be an easier way. I would wipe the wood down with acetone, spray it with lacquer, and be done. From what I understand, that is what most instrument makers do...

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## Woodman (Dec 5, 2013)

Here's a recommendation for using Zinsser Sealcoat. I've used it to seal knots in pine but never thought to use it on oily wood.
http://www.routerforums.com/finishing-touch/4350-what-about-finishing-exotic-woods.html


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## rbhandcrafted (Jan 9, 2014)

David Marks has a youtube short video on gabon ebony. Worth checking out.

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## Shagee415 (Jan 10, 2014)

I use the Mylands sanding sealer two coats and then the spray lacquer 6 coats and have had very good success with it.

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## APBcustoms (Jan 23, 2014)

Try nitrocellulose lacquer!!! It's what they use on guitars it's quite beautiful. It's hard but still has some flex and what's great is it sits ontop of wood and in instances of cocobolo it prevents it from changing color to brown. Here is what the finish looks like on one of the curly maple guitar body's I work with.


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## Treecycle Hardwoods (Jan 23, 2014)

APBcustoms said:


> Try nitrocellulose lacquer!!! It's what they use on guitars it's quite beautiful. It's hard but still has some flex and what's great is it sits ontop of wood and in instances of cocobolo it prevents it from changing color to brown. Here is what the finish looks like on one of the curly maple guitar body's I work with.


 are you saying that nitocellulose lacquer will prevent color change from oxidation and uv rays?? Just curious because it is something that many woodworkers struggle with.


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## APBcustoms (Jan 23, 2014)

Treecycle Hardwoods said:


> are you saying that nitocellulose lacquer will prevent color change from oxidation and uv rays?? Just curious because it is something that many woodworkers struggle with.



The reason it's used to protect the color is because it seals the wood off from air which prevents oxidation. A big problem with cocobolo is when an oil finish is used it soaks deep into the wood and that can help cause it to fade faster according to what I've heard/ experienced I can show you the difference between finished all on the same piece of cocobolo and how the difference in finish on the two bowls and how one darkened a little to much for my liking.


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## APBcustoms (Jan 23, 2014)

Oops hit post instead of upload there here's the bowl finished with the nitro lacquer



Treecycle Hardwoods said:


> are you saying that nitocellulose lacquer will prevent color change from oxidation and uv rays?? Just curious because it is something that many woodworkers struggle with.


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## Treecycle Hardwoods (Jan 23, 2014)

is that suff expensive? Can you get it at a box store or is it a specialty type thing?


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## APBcustoms (Jan 23, 2014)

I get it here http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Finishi..._Stringed_Instrument_Lacquer.html?tab=Details

They also have it in a spray can.


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## APBcustoms (Jan 23, 2014)

Treecycle Hardwoods said:


> is that suff expensive? Can you get it at a box store or is it a specialty type thing?



Oops I Forgot to tag you I'll get this process down eventually.


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## Fret440 (Jan 23, 2014)

Some people have trouble getting finish to stick to oily woods like cocobolo. For me, I've found that the best finish for Cocobolo is shellac (without wax). This also helps enhance the red. 

I typically, have not used a finish on ebony, as it is usually used in guitar fretboards. Sometimes a finish on the fretboard can gum up and wear off after some play time, and will look like crap. Ebony can be polished to a high luster without finish and the oils from you fingers will generally keep it fed. Sometimes on a real dry board, I will apply a little Lemon Oil to refresh it about once a year or so to keep it from cracking.

I shy away from lacquer and other products that require respiratory protection/ or expensive spray equipment during application and dry time. The other problem I have with lacquer, is the wait time between dry-time and when you can start buffing, which is about a month.

Fwiw

Jacob


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## APBcustoms (Jan 23, 2014)

I'll have to 


Fret440 said:


> Some people have trouble getting finish to stick to oily woods like cocobolo. For me, I've found that the best finish for Cocobolo is shellac (without wax). This also helps enhance the red.
> 
> I typically, have not used a finish on ebony, as it is usually used in guitar fretboards. Sometimes a finish on the fretboard can gum up and wear off after some play time, and will look like crap. Ebony can be polished to a high luster without finish and the oils from you fingers will generally keep it fed. Sometimes on a real dry board, I will apply a little Lemon Oil to refresh it about once a year or so to keep it from cracking.
> 
> ...



I'll have to try shellac I've only used tung oil shellawax and nitro lacquer and it have to admit although nitro lacquer doesn't take as long as normal lacquer you still have a while before buffing comes into play. Also lemon oil is great for fretboards I use it on my fretboard restorations after I degunk them


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## BarbS (Jan 23, 2014)

Those of you considering nitrocellulose lacquer, be sure to read up on protecting yourself from its respiratory effects...I knew a man locally who developed a lethal disease similar to Lou Gherigs after a lifetime of spraying it without precautions. It can be nasty stuff. Good product; just be careful!

Reactions: Informative 1


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## APBcustoms (Jan 23, 2014)

BarbS said:


> Those of you considering nitrocellulose lacquer, be sure to read up on protecting yourself from its respiratory effects...I knew a man locally who developed a lethal disease similar to Lou Gherigs after a lifetime of spraying it without precautions. It can be nasty stuff. Good product; just be careful!



Yes definitely make sure you're wearing your Tyvek suit and your vapor mask when using nitro lacquer.

Reactions: Like 1 | Informative 1


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## Treecycle Hardwoods (Jan 23, 2014)

Thats good to know i would have been out there spraying the stuff with just my dust mask on.


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## APBcustoms (Jan 23, 2014)

Treecycle Hardwoods said:


> Thats good to know i would have been out there spraying the stuff with just my dust mask on.



Yeah you definately need good protection when working with that stuff. It gives a great finish but it's kind of a pain.


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## Charles Neil (Jan 24, 2014)

Bottom line.. On oily woods , wiping with solvents can actually do the same as the heat , it can soften the natural oils and draw them out . Your best inital coat should be shellac, it will seal in the oil and allow you to put other finishes over it . CA glues don't need the shellac.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Molokai (Jan 24, 2014)

@Nowski , i have to disagree on that shellac finish info. I am also a restorer and learned from the very best here around. We use a totally different method.
to cut it short, first coat needs to be the not mixed with anything, (made with alcohol off-course) and we add alcohol in next ones. Adding more and more....
but i believe everything can be used and will try this method on piece of old walnut.

edit, its not @Nowski, its Woodman that posted that info


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## Nowski (Jan 24, 2014)

Molokai said:


> @Nowski , i have to disagree on that shellac finish info. I am also a restorer and learned from the very best here around. We use a totally different method.
> to cut it short, first coat needs to be the not mixed with anything, and we dilute the next ones with alcohol. Adding more and more.
> but i believe everything can be used and will try this method on piece of old walnut.



?????? I have not commented on Molokai.


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## Molokai (Jan 24, 2014)

Sorry, its woodman, not you. Mix up


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## Charles Neil (Jan 24, 2014)

Molokai .. can you expand .. you totally lost me here .. "first coat not to be diluted with anything " .. What is the first coat ....


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## Molokai (Jan 25, 2014)

Charles Neil said:


> Molokai .. can you expand .. you totally lost me here .. "first coat not to be diluted with anything " .. What is the first coat ....


First i need to know how you make shellac. Here we buy that small flakes of shellac and mix it with alcohol. So when you mix that according to instructions on the label, you can use that for the first coat.
I use rubin shellac. Its 80 dollars for 2 lbs. Alcohol 96 % denaturated.


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