Lacewood and stain / finish

[UreiCollector]

I am currently working on a system using the Jbl 2342 horn with 2417h drivers, and the ev dl10x woofer. I'm going to veneer the cabinet with Australian Lacewood.

My question is.....

Has anyone used Lacewood veneer, and if so, which stain did you choose to use with this awesome wood? I would like to go on the red-brown end of the spectrum, but do not want to take away from the variegation in the veneer.

Also would love to hear opinions on polyurethan vs tung oil. I'm leaning towards the poly, since I like the high shine.

I'd love to see pictures if you can include them also.

Thank you everyone, and I love this site!!!

[Mr. Widget]

Also would love to hear opinions on polyurethan vs tung oil. I'm leaning towards the poly, since I like the high shine.

I have never worked with Lacewood, however it is a porous wood like walnut or mahogany, as opposed to a tight grained wood like birch or maple... I have used polyurethanes on the tight grained woods and have been quite pleased with the results. For open grained woods I typically use an oil finish. If you use a gloss polyurethane you need to fill the pores with a grain filler or you will end up with a finish with thousands of tiny pores and shiny rings around them... I have seen many DIYers use this on other open woods like oak... it looks terrible in my opinion... even some low end furniture use a finish like this.

If you want a really high gloss piano type finish, you might try PianoLac... it is a lot more work than most DIYers are willing to put up with, but the results could be truly outstanding...

http://www.pianolac.com/

Alternatively, a nice satin oil finish on lacewood could look very nice too.


Widget

[UreiCollector]

it is a porous wood like walnut or mahogany, as opposed to a tight grained wood like birch or maple.

If you use a gloss polyurethane you need to fill the pores with a grain filler or you will end up with a finish with thousands of tiny pores and shiny rings around them...

Widget

Thank you Widget! Very good advice indeed! My father has a set of 604's in the 620 cabinets, and I do like the finish on those...I do believe it is an oil rubbed finish, though I don't know WHICH oil (tung / linseed / etc). Perhaps I'll go that route to avoid the pore filler.....

[racencase]

I have a different approach when using Lacewood, Leopardwood or any "open grained" wood. I apply several coats of Minwax Sand and Seal, sanding with 600 to 800 grit between coats. I then apply several light coats of polyurathane, rubbing with 0000 steel wool between each coat, paying attention to the level of the finish. Once satisified, I apply several coats of Minwax paste wax, lightly rubbing again with 0000 steel wool between coats, just to assure a good bond. When I'm happy with the finish, I hand rub and rub and rub and rub until it appears to be glass. I always use tack cloth between every coat of anything applied. Takes a lot of time but I don't care as the final product is after all, all that matters. Just my $0.02 from a newbie. Sorry about the size and quality of the photos. Below piece is 1/4 sawn Leopardwood, cherry and back piece is cabinet grade clear popular. Soon to be finished!

[racencase]

One more

[UreiCollector]

Racencase, that finish looks great! Thank you for the advice!

I have picked up some Minwax Tung Oil, and have given it a whirl on some scrap oak. I really like the appearance. I'm going to give it a shot on the lacewood, without stain, and see how I feel then. I have a feeling that with the deeper red hue of the lacewood, I may get exactly the color I want without stain. I love the feel of the wood with the tung oil, it still has that "wood" feel to it.

Since I have let the project "out of the bag", here are the cabinet plans for anyone who is interested. The front and sides will be lacewood, with the vertical edges rounded with a 3/4" radius, and the top/bottom will be 1" joined maple, with a black finish.

I can not wait to hear the 2432's/2417h's in a completed system!