Reply by SPHinTampa

I am having the same kind of problem with rotary cut bubinga. Unfortunately I do not have an answer for you but based on some research this weekend, I will offer a couple of theories:

1. burls are a lot of end grain, which will soak up more finish and tend to darken, reducing the contrast in your wood. The advice to finish to a very fine surface (essentially burnishing it) would seem to make sense as it would help keep the absorption rate of the finish more even.
2. the use of oil with a yellowish cast would tend to make brown appearing woods “browner” for lack of better term, again darkening your wood and reducing contrast
3. sanding (as well possibly pressure from the veneer press) tends to compress the wood fibers, which dulls down the chattoyance (sp?), so the use of the card scraper would shear away the compressed fiber, providing a more distinctive grain.

I plan to scrape the test pieces I have and try sanding with 400/600 on one half later this week to see if that helps. I am also going to test water based vs oil based finish to see if that makes a difference. I know that oil based finishes tend to make “figures” pop but I think this may be a case of too much of a good thing.

Again, I am not an expert, I am just reading what the experts say and trying to figure what to do. I will post my results.

-- Shawn, I ask in order to learn