Hey everyone,
I just ordered my first few pieces of stabilized wood (snakewood and big-leaf maple) and I have a few questions about how to finish it. How many grits do you use on the belt sander? I usually sand only to 120-grit, then hand sand, but I don't know if this would work as well with stabilized wood. Does anybody do a final buff? What compounds, if any, do you use? Any tips would be appreciated . . . I want to get the best finish possible out of these pieces!

Josh Blount

Josh, one of the good things about stabilized wood is you can take it to whatever level of finish you want, so you have to establish what you want before you start.

If you want a nice matte finish, take it through 400 to 600 grit and rub it out with 0000 steel wool.

If you want a high gloss, buff with white compound or White Diamond after sanding through 800 grit.

By the way, snakewood is so dense that it doesn't usually respond well to stabilizing. Where did you get it?

Hey Don,
I got my snakewood from Lumber Lady. I wondered about stabilizing snakewood, but they said they can do it, it just takes a little bit more effort. Same price, though. Thanks!

Josh Blount