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ZEBRANO FINISH

I would consider some type of grain filler. Zebrawood does exhibit some rather large pores that will make a high gloss finish difficult to achieve without filler.

As for a type of finish, that would depend on your level of expertise and equipment available to you. Lately I've been using catalyzed lacquer.
 
No dust needed, you want the grain to be unobscured, and mixing dust in the epoxy would block or discolor much of the top.

Get a small System 3 kit(small resin, and small hardener) from wood craft or other supplier. Mix as recomended. Apply to the finish sanded top using a bristle brush or foam brush, but watch for bubbles. Apply with the direction of the grain, using enough to fill the pores. Let the epoxy settle for about 1/2 hour, go back with a squeegee/credit card/scraper, or your chosen tool to remove excess epoxy, making sure to leave the grains full. Follow drying and curing times on product for full curing times.

Next sand back to smooth with as high as 400(I stop at 320) then begin your clear finish regimine be it polyurethane, or lacquer.

hope this helps. If you need, practice on a scrap piece before starting the instrument. I will be doing a zebrawood topped bass finish soon(within the next month), and can send you some pics of the process, if you are still perplexed, or would like some extra points of reference. Also see the epoxy tutorial in the sticky's.
 
No dust needed, you want the grain to be unobscured, and mixing dust in the epoxy would block or discolor much of the top.

Get a small System 3 kit(small resin, and small hardener) from wood craft or other supplier. Mix as recomended. Apply to the finish sanded top using a bristle brush or foam brush, but watch for bubbles. Apply with the direction of the grain, using enough to fill the pores. Let the epoxy settle for about 1/2 hour, go back with a squeegee/credit card/scraper, or your chosen tool to remove excess epoxy, making sure to leave the grains full. Follow drying and curing times on product for full curing times.

Next sand back to smooth with as high as 400(I stop at 320) then begin your clear finish regimine be it polyurethane, or lacquer.

hope this helps. If you need, practice on a scrap piece before starting the instrument. I will be doing a zebrawood topped bass finish soon(within the next month), and can send you some pics of the process, if you are still perplexed, or would like some extra points of reference. Also see the epoxy tutorial in the sticky's.

great , thanks for the info , Adrian:)
 
Just throwing something out there that may or may not be of relevance - zebrawood can suffer from checking when it is run through a planer, which may require some work with an orbital sander to smooth out. A heads up to leave a little extra thickness to accomodate this.

Lonnybass