Sanding sealer for figwood

[Dengue]

Hello, I have a couple of boards of fig tree timber. It is very soft and porous, but the grain is beautiful. After sanding with 80 grit , it is still rough and uneven to touch.

The pictures below show the colour of the board wet with water.

Can anyone please suggest a suitable coloured grain filler and sanding sealer so that the finished timber after sanding is quite smooth and ready for an oil finish?

P1280423 (Large).jpgP1280424 (Large).jpgP1280422 (Large).jpg

[Bob38S]

I would suggest that you firstly keep going with the sanding. It will never be smooth enough for finishing if you stop at 80 grit. Work your way up through the grits, 120, 180, 240 etc until you are happy with the surface. It will get smoother the higher you go. Avoid skipping a grit as it is in fact more work with a less than satisfactory result.

Very porous timbers absorb finishes at different rates across the surface which can lead to a blotchy appearance. You may find if you use a grain filler that you will lose some of the appearance of the grain you are trying to keep. A sealer is available fro most of the commercial suppliers or you can go the shellac route. This should overcome the blotchy problem, slightly firm up the softness of the timber and even out any finish coat.

[Christos]

Continue on with the sanding grits.

To compare the original surface to the one just sanded do one side until it is smooth to the touch then flip it around and feel the difference to the unsanded one.