I have a paulownia body. I know that a lot of the world's paulownia supply is grown in AUS, and is used a lot for surfboards in AUS, but there is not a lot on this board about finishing it. Would be grateful to be pointed at any build diaries or finishing threads.

It is very open grained, and what I can find on finishing it says that the grain needs to be filled. I am wondering how to handle it to get a finish that shows the grain. I have seen that some folks seal open grained woods with shellac. But there does not seem to be agreement about whether to seal with shellac first then stain. Others say stain first, then shellac. What I think I understand is that the latter stains deeper, but risks blotching. The former is less prone to blotching, but does not stain as well.

Does shellac blotch? I have seen nothing about this...

I have also seen references to folks who tint their shellac with water or alcohol soluble dyes. Would that be a good alternative to staining? I would like to go for a reddish, burgundy color that shows grain. Could I get that by tinting my blonde shellac? Or by using garnet shellac?

As you can see I am truly clueless ;-)