Hi i have some scraps of cocobolo that I am trying to use up, question how do you finish it, its oily I have read. Oil won't work that make it to dark, I also have some rose wood what do you guys use thanks Mike
finishing cocobolo and rosewood
- Thread starter Karda
- Start date
With oily woods, they don't necessarily need any finish. Just sand to a high grit and buff.
If you want a finish on your objects, one strategy with oily woods is to give them a coat of de waxed shellac, then you can use the top coat of your choice.
If you want a finish on your objects, one strategy with oily woods is to give them a coat of de waxed shellac, then you can use the top coat of your choice.
To add to Tim’s great response, the stage before the finishing work is utmost importance. The prep work is crucial to curb the natural oils in rosewood- sand, vacuum the surface & apply either denatured alcohol, acetone & lacquer thinner to wipe down the natural surface oils. I use a sealer coat before applying multiple top coat of either shellac/denatured alcohol, urethane or nitrocellulose lacquer- spray thin coats, let dry and sand lightly with high grit, wipe down & proceed with top coats. If you want to keep the “color fresher” and not turn yellow, stay away from the nitro & opt for a urethane or shellac/denatured alcohol mix. This kind of the recipe for guitars, but they will work with furniture as well. For genuine rosewood or ebony fretboards, I use Renaissance wax or Watco Danish oil or Colortone fretboard finishing oil depending what I am trying to achieve.
If you use a clear coat lacquer on oily woods & do not adhere to knocking down the oily content, over time, you will get peels on the clear coat and it will float off the surface like a sheet of acrylic.
Arn
PS- if you want just a natural finish, use high grit from 1K all the way up to 10k with a micromesh. Option to use Renaissance type wax to give it some natural luster & life.
If you use a clear coat lacquer on oily woods & do not adhere to knocking down the oily content, over time, you will get peels on the clear coat and it will float off the surface like a sheet of acrylic.
Arn
PS- if you want just a natural finish, use high grit from 1K all the way up to 10k with a micromesh. Option to use Renaissance type wax to give it some natural luster & life.
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- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #5
thanks for the tips
@Arn213
Arn - when you use cocobolo or rosewood for trim pieces on a guitar, for example the binding or the bridge, etc, do you do all that pre-treating before gluing on the pieces? If you glue on the cocobolo to the spruce top, would the color leach out into the spruce if you start wiping it down with acetone or other solvent? Seems like it might be best to do the de-oiling, wipe down, then glue on the pieces, and then sand & finish. No?
Arn - when you use cocobolo or rosewood for trim pieces on a guitar, for example the binding or the bridge, etc, do you do all that pre-treating before gluing on the pieces? If you glue on the cocobolo to the spruce top, would the color leach out into the spruce if you start wiping it down with acetone or other solvent? Seems like it might be best to do the de-oiling, wipe down, then glue on the pieces, and then sand & finish. No?
I moved this.
You got it right Doug. The only other thing which you already know is that you tape off the footprint of the bridge when you apply the clear coat, then you glue down the bridge- I still wipe it down with one of those three de-oiling solvents to curb the oil down so the glue does it’s job.
On a side note, a little trick, but tricky- you still have to wipe it down regardless when you glue the binding down if you use rosewood. There is that waiting time period depending on your schedule to prep ., apply sealer and clear coats. You need to still knock down the oil with a prolonged wait period. You have to be very careful and precise, especially if you use cyano to bond the wood binding to the perimeter- acetone will aid in de-bonding it (whether it is a single trim or multi laminate trims)……..I use a semi-wet q-tip; not soaked, no pressure applied, just like “gliding” or ice skating the solvent to run around the perimeter of the rosewood binding.
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I trying with 3 methods for finishing rosewood, maybe this make reference
1 is using oily like tung oil
2 is using metal polish
3 is natural jus buff with scotch brite
All finishing sanded to grit 3000
1 is using oily like tung oil
2 is using metal polish
3 is natural jus buff with scotch brite
All finishing sanded to grit 3000
Exactly what I had to do with a couple of grunt calls I made years ago. It would be days and the poly would still be tacky. Did one with the shellac and it was finished in a few days
Like Tim said, I mostly just plane/scrape or sand to a high grit till it starts to take a polish and that's it but if I want something deeper or protective, virtually any oil finish works just fine with the oils already present in the wood. Linseed or Tung oil and wax work great too.
Depending on what you're doing, sanding to a high polish and then burnishing is another option.
Depending on what you're doing, sanding to a high polish and then burnishing is another option.