Should I use BLO on lacewood?

steve wrote:>My wife brought home a lacewood box that was all scratched up. I took off

I don't understand what you mean by POP. Tom

Tomeshew wrote: : steve wrote:>My wife brought home a lacewood box that was all scratched up. I : took off :>the old lacquer finish and sanded it, but even before I removed the lacquer, :>the grain didn't POP.

Some highly figured woods can have a 3D appearance if finished correctly. Oil will penetrate into the wood and give it greater depth. A nice topcoat of shellac will then really make it pop.

-- Andy Barss

Steve wrote:> I

Huh? Grain don't POP before you remove the lacquer... The english these days..

correction, Aesthetics

Lacewood is funny stuff. The angle from which you see it makes a big difference. I made picture frames and can see grain really popping only on two parallel sides at a time. Still nice though.

I tested some strips before finishing the frames. Plain shellac looked as good as plain Watco or Watco covered with shellac. I also tested whether sandpapering or scraping looked better, and couldn't decide.

===== Those are my principles. If you don't like them I have others. ===== {remove curly brackets for email}

Couldnt agree more, Charles. I find its the type of wood that can best be used only in parallel situations. As far as scraping......i found it very difficult to scrape but got good results going to 320 grit. Tung seemed to work the best for me.

TomL