Koa wood

[cowchaser]

Got some Koa yesterday and decided to turn a piece today using a cigar (first one of those also). I found the grain to be larger than I am use to and basically I had some difficulty finishing. Needless to say wood turns great, but in my CA finish somehow I ended up with some dull areas in the finish. I sanded to 400 and then through 4000 using MM. After each coat of CA I sanded again throught 4000 MM. On the last coat I sanded to 12000.

From those of you that have used Koa before should I have sanded more (maybe 600) before applying the first CA coat? Seemed like I had some deep grain patterns, which from what I have read is normal for the wood. Other than my finish failure the wood is great. Bought from Chris so those of you that have bought from him know it is good quality wood.

 

[shawn394]

I made a couple of Koa pens from the blanks I got from Chris. This may be overkill but, I got a great finish. After turning I sand all the way up to 12000MM sanding with the grain between grits through 400. After the MM I use EEE on the lathe as fat as I will go with a cotton cloth, then white diamond. If I build to much heat I let it set for a while and work on something else. When cool I apply a CA finish sanding after the final coat through all the MM grits. I then go back a few hours later (I thing you are really supposed to wait overnight) and the CA has cured well I whit diamond and then Ren wax. I'll see if I can find a good picture to post of a finished pen.

 

[ahoiberg]

dustin, koa has caused me the same problems in the past. some pieces of koa just soak up that CA like there's no tomorrow, resulting in the dull spots you describe.

6-8 "sealer" coats of thin CA followed by 2 or 3 medium and/or thick coats should do the trick.

IMHO, i don't think sanding it to 600 before applying finish would make much of a difference.

 

[Grizzlyss]

I did some Koa pens a while back and posted the same observations on this site. It appears from many turners experiences is that Koa is a sponge to CA. I agree that you need about 8 sealer coats of thin CA, and then about 4 or 5 Med CA as a finish. With that the pens I got have great grain and curl showing. I think the curly Koa I got is some really fantastic wood. Ejoy working with the Koa, I am in the process of doing a cigar pen and curly Koa with Enduro, can't wait to see how that turns out.

Sheldon

 

[cowchaser]

Thanks for the answers guys. I guess when I did a search I put in the wrong thing, but after I tried it again a little while ago I found your problems as well. Oh well I will work through this. Thanks for the head start. []