Basswood Finish

[SteveS]

Hello. I am doing some 3D ornaments and birdhouses. I've used walnut, red oak, cherry, maple, and butternut so far and they seal and finish fine with both shellac and lacquer. My issue is; I cannot get basswood to do anything but soak up the finish, no sheen, no shine, nothing. Does anyone have success finishing basswood?

Thanks, Steve

[Jim McDonald]

Try a coat of clear shellac first. Seems seal pretty well in my limited usage. Then you can finish with lacquer, poly, etc.

[SteveS]

Thanks for the reply. I actually have used four coats of blond shellac, dipped and dried. Multiple sprayed coats of lacquer, same result. Haven't tried poly yet, so it's next.

Edited September 30, 2020 by SteveS

[teachnlearn]

Trees absorb nutrients and water to grow. When dead and called wood the structures of different wood species will still do the same thing.  People painting houses or painting/ staining projects have had this problem for centuries. Technology developed 'Wood Sealers'. Searching for wood sealer will give you a variety of products. Between commercial products, forum boards and home made recipes online, coating your project with one of these will stop the absorption. RJF

Edited September 30, 2020 by teachnlearn

[rash_powder]

Maybe mix wood glue with water until appropriately thinned and paint the project with that first?  If the wood is just sponging up sealer it needs to be ‘plugged’ first.  The glue should still take a stain, just not as well as the wood would have.  

[tomsteve]

basswood is used a lot for duck decoy carving. they do some amazing coloring on them. maybe you can check out a decoy carvinbg forum and see what theyre doing for finishing?

https://www.waterfowlforum.net/viewforum.php?f=61