Cocobolo Woes,,,,,,,HELP!!!

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armyturner

armyturner

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I have been having fits with Cocobolo and CA. I finish it just like any other type of wood but i am having trouble with cloudy areas. Is this possibly from the oil in the wood? Is there something better to use to finish Cocobolo (ie. Deft, friction polish, etc.)? Thanks for any advice.
 
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I guess I should have put that in there. After turning I sand with 400 grit then all 9 grits of MM. I clean the wood with DNA and air after the 400 grit, 2400 MM, and 4000 MM. I clean the piece only by wiping and air after the 12000 mm so as not to introduce any moisture prior to applying the CA. I apply 1 coat of thin CA to seal the wood followed by 2 coats of thick CA, letting it dry thourghly between coats. After the second coat of thick CA dries I use MM through 12000, HUT PPP, and Ren wax. This works pretty well for me on everything but Cocobolo. I have not been able to get the CA/BLO to work for me yet.

I have spray Deft but have not tried it yet.
 
Why not consider omitting the finish altogether? Cocobolo has so much natural oil that it develops a rich patina with use, and for my personal preference, does not need anything else.
 
I have finished a lot of Cocobolo with CA and the only time I ever had a problem when I sanded through the CA. I don't think you're using enough CA. I put on 3 coats of thin followed by either 3 coats of medium or 2 coats of thick. Are what you're calling cloudy areas spots that are dull looking? If that's what it is, you're sanding through the CA to the wood.
 
Like Ron, I prefer to leave oily woods like Coco natural. I just polish them out with MM and add a coat or two of Ren Wax or TSW. I leave the rest to the buyers body oils to develop the patina. No complaints yet.
 
Hey Jeremy, I do what Gerry does. I may even put 4 or 5 coats of thin on before the two thick coats. Then be careful not to sand through. I tend to be heavy handed and lately, I have been using that Abralon starting right after the thick CA dries. I was using the strips of 250 or 400 regular sand paper and it seemed like I was taking too much off to start with. Now, I start with 180 Abralon and it does not seem to scratch as deep as the regular sand paper. Then off to 500 Abralon. I then go into the MM. I don't get those deep scratches anymore, which means I'm not taking as much CA off to get rid of the deep scratches. I don't get those splotches anymore.

I also listened to Dario relative to using accelerator to clean the wood. It dries real quick.
 
last I did I cleaned with acetone then did the CA. Turned out fine. I've read too many people saying they are having problems with the denatured alcohol to use it.

Gentle sanding is also key. After each grit check your abrasive and make sure it is pure white powder. Any color means you've gone all the way through the finish back to the wood.

GK
 
last I did I cleaned with acetone then did the CA. Turned out fine. I've read too many people saying they are having problems with the denatured alcohol to use it.
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I had more trouble with DNA than I found it was worth. I now use plain old rubbing alcohol as it not only removes oils but moisture too!

3 heavy coats of thick CA, wet sanding, then polish . . .

2007484519_SEG1.jpg
 
I now use plain old rubbing alcohol as it not only removes oils but moisture too!
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That's surprising since rubbing alcohol contains a good bit of water. But, the results look good and that's all that matters.
 
Regular rubbing alcohol does contain some water, up to 30%. But you can also get high purity alcohol, and it has only 1% water or less. High purity alcohol is used in electronics a lot for cleaning, and you can get it at most drug stores, but you may have to ask for it, as they tend to keep it in back, as some unscrupulous types use it in the manufacture of various drugs and narcotics. I use it when I lap my heat sinks for the computer, which makes it absolutely flat. Alcohol does draw water out of whatever it touches, without leaving a film behind, which is something that we look for too.

Sheldon
 
Cozee.....Not regarding your finish (which looks terrific) but I have made a few Celtic Knot laminations....None as good as the one you show here. I use a sled to cut at 45 degree angles, and the inserted wood is the same thickness as my tablesaw blade. All of mine came out ok, but NOT symetrical like yours is....Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Also, can you recommend a way to clamp pieces of blank when you do the glue up? Hard to clamp pieces at 45 degree angles...Thanks..Oscar
 
Oscar:

To answer your clamping question, here's a quick and dirty scanned image of an Atlas I'm working on. The cocobolo and acrylic were clamped using two 6" Bessey Uni-clamps set at 90° to each other, with pressure in the direction of the arrows. Wax paper was used to keep the glue from getting my clamps in worse shape than they are, and the pieces were cut over-size so I could sand the blank to the right dimensions. I've learned not to get too complicated with the glue-ups...just take more time and steps to get your eventual design finished.
 
I find that mineral spirits take way, to long to dry. I mean way, way to long, but maybe I am just impatient? I have been using CA Accelerator like Dario recommended, and it works great, not the cheapest, but it does work great.

Sheldon
 
Hi armyturner
Try using oil finishes on cocobo, in the UK I use Colron Finishing oil (like a Danish oil)
The more coats you use the glosser the final result 3 coats seems to work ok, many woods respond well to an oil finish
Kind regards Eric (woodpecker. pens)
 
I like to use at least some sort of finish on Cocobolo since some people can have a reaction to the wood. CA and/or Ren wax can work well. It is one of my favorite woods to use but I respect the toxicity of the wood!
 
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