Cocobolo vs. CA Finish

[lrawlins]

Hi,

While making a bunch of pens lately I have noticed that when I apply CA to Cocobolo it doesn't cure like it does on other materials.

Has anyone else noticed this?

I have used Shellawax liquid seems to work fine though.

Bye for now,

 

[robertkulp]

Cocobolo has a lot of oils in the wood and some finishes don't work with it - as you've discovered. Cocobolo can actually be polished without any finish and look beautiful. It wears very well, developing a rich patina over the years.

 

[nativewooder]

Cocobolo is a "rosewood". ALL rosewoods are oily. Before you apply CA to a "rosewood", you need to clean the surface with acetone to get rid of the oil. And I agree with the prior comment that cocobolo will attain a high polish without any other finish. Be careful with rosewoods because you can develop and allergy to the dust that can put you in the ER!

 

[raar25]

I used DNA and never have a problem with CA as long as I start applying it immediately after cleaning.

 

[Monty]

Because both DNA and acetone may have a small amount of water in them (both are hygroscopic) I wipe mine with CA accelerator before applying the CA.