GluBoost for filling and finishing a 20 X 20 chessboard

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Mike

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My #1 grandson and I are building him a chessboard. It is about 19" X 19" and has maple and purple heart squares with a frame of what I believe is some kind of rosewood. All but the purple heart were left from other projects in my shop. It is turning out nice so far.
The rosewood (if that's what it is) has a porous surface and we (grandson) want a glass finish.
I have been reading here and other places on the web about GluBoost fill and finish and have been thinking about trying it on pens, so I ordered the Fill n' Finish thin and non blush accelerator from EB. Thanks for the Peanut M&Ms Ed!! (it's hot here, had to put them in the fridge for a while before I could enjoy them)
Shop was about 85°F and 35% humidity. I wore nitrile gloves so I didn't glue myself to the work, a clean piece of old t-shirt for an applicator. The t-shirt material got a little hot and smoked, but not excessively. Maybe blue shop towels, per John U video?
I tried it on a scrap piece of the rosewood sanded to 400 grit and after 3 coats it filled most of the voids. I then used MinWax glossy WOP and it looks really good for a trial finish. Grandson is in Panama on a church mission this past week to supply indigenous people with eye glasses or he would be helping. He will be doing the finishing.
I believe with the right combo of GluBoost products, this finish is going to be great.
My question/issue is this: How much GluBoost will it take to fill and finish both sides of the board, and which product or combination of products should I use. It will take more coats to fill the rosewood than the maple and purple heart.
I have watched some of the GluBoost finishing videos and none I saw were finishing a surface this size. I have attached pics of the board sanded to 400 grit, no fill, etc.

Mike
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Now I am not a gluboost user so can not answer any of those questions. But what I caution you on is wiping any finish which you will do with that CA and it will contaminate the board. You have purple heart next to maple which is a very subjective combination for contamination. The frame to me looks like Mahogony and thus the open pores which you are looking to fill. Now you say you want to top coat with wipe on poly.

Couple questions. Is the frame separate from the board? Because if not wipe on anything will cause streaks because of the orientation of the materials. Now if they are separate then that could help. Can help in so many ways.

But with all said you really should be asking what is the best way to finish that project? Then you have to ask yourself what are you looking for. You mention high gloss. OK. You have to ask how long do you want that purple heart to stay purple? Do you want a crystal clear, no ambering at all of the maple? This changes the look and product used. I would stay away from any CA. Last question how well do you want the board to be scratch proof? Or is this more a show piece. I am sure your chess pieces will have felt bottoms.

As far as the frame and filling the pores, use a wood filler that matches the color of mahagony. They get pretty close to any color. Forget the CA. Sand down to same grit as the board. The options I come up with and they are a few. Spray a dewaxed shellac to seal wood. ( Zinnser's Clear Bulls Eye Seal Coat) Has to be their seal coat and dewaxed. Should say right on can. Now you are set up for whatever finish you want. If a show piece then lacquer is my choice. Easily multi coats applied no sanding. Not as durable as poly. (but can easily be recoated at a later time if scratched) Lacquer is more durable than what people give credit for. You want durability then poly acrylic would be my choice. It is a waterbase product so no color change. But purple heart will darken with time and UV light. If the color is important and you do not mind ambering the maple somewhat then a marine varnish is the way to go. or some other UV protecting poly. But multi coats will need sanding between coats. Most people say waterbase looks too cold and oil base poly looks warm. Fumes sometimes play a roll in choices too. They do make waterbase lacquer too. One other finish but not high gloss is a furniture grade wax. You can coat anytime.

Now here is my disclaimer. It is your project and your decision and your eye to satisfy. I only gave suggestions. (MY OPINION) And here is another suggestion. When ever I do a project like this and unsure of how I want to finish it, I make sure I cut enough extra pieces to duplicate the piece I want to finish so I can try different finish on. Better to do on that than be unhappy with the final results. But remember I said exactly like the good one and that includes the same sanding procedure and grits.

Now I have seen people here do many cutting boards so they maybe able to weigh in with better ideas. Good luck and show us the finished product.
 
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I've never tried a project this large with GluBoost or CA. Have used colored CA to fill gaps and holes in larger projects, but not as a total finish. I might suggest looking at a filler called AquaCoat for doing the grain filling - comes in clear and various colors, and then using either a spray or brush poly or lacquer final finish. General Finishes makes some hard wearing finishes in both water based and oil - I suggest water based.

Great project - I am sure everyone will enjoy it!

Kevin
 
Gluboost Fill 'n finish original would be the glue to use, it will give you plenty of time to spread the glue out evenly. Id use a silicone scraper/spatula to apply the glue and will be reusable. This size of project will require a lot of final sanding to get the surface perfectly level before buffing to a high gloss. If this was my chess board, I would probably just use a good high gloss spray lacquer because it would give similar results with a bit less work.
 
There are options in filling that grain. I wouldn't be afraid to use Gluboost but I would be concerned with color cross contamination. I would test the process on scrap before jumping in. Sanding and denatured alcohol wiping could transfer purple color to the maple. I like to use the ultra thin to seal grain and pours before I fill them. That makes the surface harder and more resistant to color contamination. I've used GB on flat work but nothing that large to cover. I've linked a video from Gluboosts channel on how others use it. I've seen other videos of there's with people doing the same method. They use it as a sealer and finish with spray lacquer. Best of luck with which ever process you use.

 
Thanks for all the replies.
John U, I will watch the video in a few.
I have used the wipe on poly on many projects over the years and it works great. Finish sand with MM and get whatever gloss you want.
I have been cleaning with DNA after sanding and haven't seen any color transfer.
The board will be used, it is not primarily a display piece. Finish durability is important but not critical.
Grandson will be over in about a week to see the trial pieces and make a decision on final finish.
Will look into Crystalac grain filler and AquaCoat.
I will add pics of the test finish pieces later today.

Thanks again all,
Mike
 
Have to say I just watched the video shown with the GluBoost fill and I would stay as far away as I could from that method if you are trying to fill and finish the checkers on that board. You have to sand while wet to get a slurry to fill pores and that for sure would cross contaminate the woods. Do the frame alone would be OK because one type of wood. Any top coating will fill the pores if they are not too large and from what you shown you do not have that case. I am a huge fan for using lacquers because it brings out deep beauty of wood more so than poly any day of the week. Will say this too. Weather poly or lacquer you can only achieve the sheen the product is meant to.

Again not really understanding your sanding process but I would be ever so careful of wiping the board after sand with DNA or any liquid product. Transferring dust is just too easy and bleeding can occur if you hit a pocket of resin in the purpleheart. Blow the dust off with an air gun.

Yes wipe on poly is easy to apply and very forgiving. In fact I am using it on all my woodwork trim and doors in my house right now. But being an oil it will yellow light colored woods. Dries quickly and the coats are thin.
 
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