Dark Brown Rosewood Finish

Rosewood is a very beautiful and exotic wood. The rosewood has a reddish-brown color with black stripes with a very strong character grain pattern. This wood is an expensive wood; with the right finishing, then he could produce a nice, luxury, and interesting product. In this article we write about rosewood finish, which is exploring its natural beauty. A transparent dark brown color finish with dark stripes. 

dark brown rosewood finish panel

Here is the finishing process step by step:

• The preparation of the unfinished wood.

The preparation of unfinished wood is one of the most important things. The sanding process must be done right to make sure that the wood has a smooth and even surface. The rosewood contains oil inside that could affect the finish. Wipe the wood surface with a rag dampened with acetone at the first finishing process. It will help to minimize the oil problem. If the rosewood veneer is used, then the veneer gluing must be done properly. Veneer conditioner is needed to help soften the veneer in the process of veneer lamination. (See our previous article: rosewood veneer). 

handpad to enhance the grain 

• Hand pad.

Had pad used as the first staining process to enhance and maximize the beauty of the grain. The black pad stain is applied by hand padding technique. The hand pad is done according to the grain pattern. Make a thin black line according to the grain pattern. The hand pad should be done properly to make vogue black lines that are well blended with the natural black strip from the rosewood. 

Do highlights to soften the black lines looked from the stain. Sand the black stain on the wood with sandpaper or steel wool to smooth the black stain. The black stain has to look natural, as it comes from the wood. 

 the hand pad according to the wood grain

•  The stain application

To produce a darker color we require body stain application. Spray a dark black stain to the entire surface evenly. Then do the highlights on the stain. Use sandpaper or steel wool to wipe the stain according to the grain pattern. The proper highlight will enhance and maximize the grain pattern, and more alive finishing looked will be obtained. 

The stain application to make dark color

• Sealer application.

Sealer is layered when the staining is correctly done. For this finish the catalyzed clear coating is recommended. The PU or acid catalyzed sealer will reduce the problems from the oil from the wood. The catalyzed clear coating is also built stronger film layer that more proper for the clean looked finish.  In this finishing process we used Pu clear coating.
Apply wet coat of PU sealer by spray evenly to the entire surface. Let it dry and then sand the sealer. The PU sealer need long time to dry, it need at least 1 hour to make sure the sealer is dry. The sanding for the PU sealer need to be done properly. Use # 360 grade sandpaper to sand the sealer.
Repeat the sealer application and the sanding operation to produce enough film built. Usually we need two times or three times sealer application to produce an even and smooth finish. 

 the rosewood finish

• Application of top coat.

After sufficient film is built, the next process is the top coat application. Check the color and the finishing quality; make sure the color is uniform and right already. We may need to add strain if necessary.
Check also the sanding quality; make sure there is no orange peel or deep scratches on the sealer. Use a #400 grade to sand the sealer before the top coat application.
Apply the semi-gloss or high-gloss PU top coat for this finish. Spray a layer of PU top coat evenly to the surface, and let it dry. The result is a nice, elegant, and luxurious black rosewood cabinet