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Finishing Tulip Poplar

T

TomH

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Jan 8, 2006
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I recently turned an NE vase from what I believe is Tulip Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera). It turned fairly well, but the end grain is so open that I haven't been able to apply a decent finish.

So far I've tried buffing and waxing -- which looks great on the edge grain, but does nothing for the ends; I've tried raising the grain w/ h2o and sanding to 400 -- which helps, but leaves open, though smooth, pores; I've tried filling w/ CA and re-turning -- which still left very open, though not as porous ends; and I've tried spray laquer, which really looks bad on the edge-grain sections.

Any suggestions? (as you can probably tell, finishing is not my strong suit).


Thanks in advance,
Tom
 
Finishing end grain

There are several options for dealing with end grain. The biggest factor is what type of final finish you are using. You tried several things so here are a few suggestions for each case.

CA glue: apply the glue and wipe off the excess. Let it cure, then apply more glue and wipe off the excess. Repeat until the glue stops soaking in. (Medium viscosity CA will fill the pores faster than thin CA.) Then sand to remove the CA film from the surface. Then finish as desired.

Lacquer: lacquer is a low-solids finish so it will take multiple coats to fill the pores. Apply a few extra coats to the end grain areas until they stop soaking up the lacquer, then sand to blend it in with the side grain areas and apply several finish coats.

Wax: use a furniture paste wax to fill the pores and let it dry. Then buff and wax the entire item.

Another commonly used method is to seal the end grain with a thin coat of shellac. Brush it on, let it soak for a minute or two, then wipe it off. It's best to do this to the entire piece to keep the finish uniform. Depending on the wood and "cut" of the shellac, one or two applications should completely seal the wood. You can use virtually any finish on top of shellac.

Oil varnish finishes (wipe-on or brush-on) have less of a problem because they contain more solids and fill the end grain faster. I usually find that the end grain is completely filled by the second coat. (Except of course with very coarse pored woods like oak and ash.)

Hope that helps a little bit. Books could (and have) been written on this subject.
 
Tom,

I've turned a few pieces from Tulip Poplar.
I can't recall doing anything special beyond a coat of sanding sealer.

Wood sometimes varies a lot from tree to tree. Tulip poplar is rather soft and you may have some minor tearout on the endgrain. If so, more sanding is needed to get below the tear-out.

I do know that tulip poplar requires very light cuts across the endgrain. even a 1/8 cut may pull fibers with the cut wood making the tearout. so several very light finish cuts with a sharp tool are essential.

Happy Turning,
Al
 
Thanks for the help everyone 🙂 -- I'll let you know how it turns out.

Tom H
 
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