Advice clear coating a Redwood Burl?
#5
I'm building a solid body electric guitar, made from a chunk of Redwood which is extensively burled. I want to apply a gloss clear coat to protect and show off the wood. I plan to spray it with Crystalac because that's what I have on hand and I've been pleased with the results on a couple of other projects. In doing a test spray on some scrap, I find the absorption to be very uneven. To be expected, I guess. Some of the wood is soft and some is quite hard. So my question -  Should I seal this wood somehow before spraying the Crystalac? Would a thin coat of shellac be appropriate? A grain filler? On my test piece, I used several coats of clear and still had a couple of areas that looked dull, as though all the finish had absorbed into the wood instead of on top. I'm out of my league here, never having worked with this type of figured Redwood. Thank you!
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#6
If Crystallac is self sealing just keep adding coats until all the high absorption areas stop sucking it in.  You can sand between coats to get rid of any nibs, but definitely sand after the last coat that finally fills in the thirsty areas, and then shoot one or two more finish coats.  Another option would be to seal it with epoxy sealer, then sand it and spray your finish.  

John
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#7
(04-02-2020, 02:21 PM)jteneyck Wrote: If Crystallac is self sealing just keep adding coats until all the high absorption areas stop sucking it in.  You can sand between coats to get rid of any nibs, but definitely sand after the last coat that finally fills in the thirsty areas, and then shoot one or two more finish coats.  Another option would be to seal it with epoxy sealer, then sand it and spray your finish.  

John

Thank you John. I guess I don't know if Crystalac is self sealing. It does build a hard surface finish, so I assume so - or is there some other method of determination?
I don't have any epoxy sealer. I do have seal-a-cell oil base and shellac (though maybe not de-waxed).
Kind of going with the 'what's in the cupboard' method, under the circumstances.
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#8
(04-02-2020, 03:24 PM)ed kerns Wrote: Thank you John. I guess I don't know if Crystalac is self sealing. It does build a hard surface finish, so I assume so - or is there some other method of determination?
I don't have any epoxy sealer. I do have seal-a-cell oil base and shellac (though maybe not de-waxed).
Kind of going with the 'what's in the cupboard' method, under the circumstances.

I looked at Crystalac's website.  They don't say if their products are self-sealing but don't say they are not, so I assume they are.  Based on what you have on the shelf I would continue to add coats of Crystalac, as recommended above.  Seal-A-Cell is OB which isn't a good idea under a WB topcoat.  Regular shellac isn't a good choice either.  And neither will fill the grain any quicker, so stick with Crystalac.  If you see obvious thirsty spots apply more to those areas or just to those areas until those areas are filled and you start to see a film forming on the surface.  Then sand it all smooth and spray one or two finish coats.  

John
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