First time working with padauk

[smorris]

I've never had anything generate such a fine and noxious dust. The whole shop is slowly being turned red despite the best efforts of the dust collector. And what a sinus headache even wearing a mask, it must be leaking through the beard some. All that said, this is a beautiful wood. I'm making a bandsaw box for my future DiL and when LOML and my son saw it they had oohhs and aahhs for how nice the wood looked even with just the rough sanding done.

Time to start the glue up tomorrow and start thinking about a finish. I'm going to experiment with tung oil and the wife wants to try BLO and varnish. Of course I have to get it all sealed up first, it appears to be more porus than oak, I'm thinking a wash coat of shellac. I'd love to hear any suggestions on finishes from anyone who has worked with this.

[Iansaws]

I am finishing up some cabinet doors for my shop and am wrestling with finishes as well. I wanted something light to keep things light in the shop nad I wanted to show the grain as well wven though it is just pine plywood. I have some beautifull birdseye that i paln to use on the end of the cabinets and I don't want to paint over that. Anyway, a friend suggested that I use "danish oil". Have you thought of that? I am told it works really well.

[smorris]

I've added danish oil to my shopping list for tomorrow for things to experiment with. Thanks!

[Jeffrey Schronce]

Padauk pores are deeper and wider than even oak. If you want a smooth high gloss finish I would suggest filling the pores. Having said that, I believe Padauk looks nice when the pores are not filled, particularly since this is not a table top or anything.

Hopefully you were made aware that Padauk does not retain that wonderful color forever as it eventually turns brown. Fortunately its a good looking brown with reddish tones.

I liked using garnet shellac on Padauk. Really brings out that rich red color. You will need to order garnet shellac as you are not going to find it in local stores other than maybe a Woodcraft. Amber and garnet are not the same thing. Build a padding ball out of lint free cloth and apply shellac in thin coats. This will provide adequate protection for a bandsaw box.

There is a lot of confustion perpetuated by the finishing industry concerning tung oil and danish oil. There is no real standard for what makes a product tung oil or danish oil. Most are a combo of a oil that cures in the wood and a varnish that cures on the wood. BLO with varnish is going to look pretty much the same as danish oil. Watco brand natural danish oil is avail at HD and Lowes and would make an excellent finish. Easy to apply, just wipe on with lint free rag, let it set 10 minutes, wipe off excess. Let it dry a bit and repeat. Very easy finish with quite a bit of durability.

Iansaws, as far as cabinet doors, you will likely want to use a more protective finish. Building the danish oil would work, but my suggestion here would be to use General Finishes Arm-R-Seal. It is amazingly forgiving and gives wonderful results and excellent protection. It is a oil/poly blend and sometimes referred to as tung oil.

[Uncle Cracker]

Good call, Jeff. I made a wooden sword (display only) out of paduak, and the finish that was recommended to me was garnet shellac. The finished product was gorgeous...