Having some strange problems with Sapele finish. It seems to suck up
the finish and become raw wood again.

Did Tung oil first and let dry 48 hrs

Applied a few thinned coats of dewaxed shellac.

Applied Briwax using a synthetic scrub pad and it buffed out to a
beautiful flat finish.

A few days later I had severe "dry spots". It looks like I scrubbed
through the finish and have raw wood on about 75% of the surface. I
did another sample with more coats of shellac and a few days later
same thing. I thought for sure too much scrubbing even though I did a
very light job.

But now I find one of my first samples that I never waxed and it has
done the same thing. It's like the wood sucked up the shellac and
dried out. In fact the new find seemingly has raised grain.

I've heard this wood can be a problem but kind of baffled but
intrigued too. Really glad I didn't sell the first article before I
saw this problem, it takes a few days to appear.

Any thoughts?