Replies

1. 
   WillGeorge | Aug 23, 2008 01:58pm | #1

   I probably should not respond because I am not very good at finishing AND because I have only used Cocobolo in small pieces. Usually as trim, handle, knob, or something like a carved hand grip on an archery bow.

   In my experience it will change color wherever you expose new wood and will mellow out to something a bit darker.

   Because of it's oils it does not take glue very well. I always wipe with Acetone before any glue is applied. I always use a Poly glue when using it. I would assume something like Tightbond III would work also. Although it does not like glue I never had a failure (as I use the wood) with the Poly glue.

   I would doubt that you would have much luck staining it. (I admit I never tried to do it ) but I have stained surrounding wood and the stain, tints, that got onto it never changed the Cocobolo. The stain just wiped off. Maybe a hint of color change but that would just buff off.

   I could be wrong, like I said, just telling you what I have experienced.

   You said you were making a table top...

   If it were me, and I could afford that much Cocobolo, I would NEVER EVER consider anything but making the top and then spend hours hand/ machine buffer polishing and wax the surface. It will look like glass! A very beautiful and VERY TOUGH wood.

   I would say it is one of those woods ment to be as Nature made it!

   Just a general link.. http://www.countyfloors.com/species_cocobolo.html

   This is a quick link on finishing I tend to agree with.

   http://antiquerestorers.com/Articles/SAL/oilwood.htm

   There are a many more to see.

    

1. 
   dkellernc | Aug 23, 2008 05:54pm | #3

   Holy crap!  I knew some choose to spend an inordinate amount of money on flooring these days, but as a woodworker that's felt the pain at the cash register when buying any rosewood (cocobolo included), I can't imagine using it for flooring!

2. 
   SawdustGeoff | Aug 23, 2008 07:11pm | #4

   Thanks for the response. I cringed when I even used the word stain as it's so beuatiful naturally I would hate to try to improve it.  any idea about how long the color change process takes?  Also, if it will be a dining table, do I meed more protection than just a rubbed finish, i.e. a varnish film?

   Thanks

2. 
   Rich14 | Aug 23, 2008 03:10pm | #2

   Geoff,

   Cocobolo can rival Brazilian Rosewood as the most beautiful wood in creation. It turns darker as it ages from a freshly-prepared state. Sometimes disappointingly so as the rich variations in contrast between yellows and deep reds becomes more of a uniform dark red and brown.

   Don't try to stain it. There is nothing that you can do to enhance the beauty of this wood. If you do get any stain to "take" the result will be darker color an a "muddy" appearance.

   Finish with shellac or lacquer. It will reject any oil-based or water-borne finish. You can finish it to look like an "oiled" surface by buffing with 4-0 steel wool on a thinly-applied shellac or lacquer film, but as Will says, this wood just wants to be polished like glass (or marble) and you'll find that enough film to accomplish that kind of rubbing out is what you'll find yourself doing.

   It glues well with epoxy. I've also used Gorilla glue without a problem. As with all wood-glue adhesion situations, gluing up as soon possible after jointing is absolutely needed. I wipe the joints as Will does with acetone, but we are probably just doing that for luck as all the technical advice indicates that it just brings more oil to the surface and doesn't help much.

   Rich

1. 
   SawdustGeoff | Aug 23, 2008 07:15pm | #5

   Thanks for the help.  How long does the aging process color change take?  I was hoping to get all the pieces back close to the similar initial color prior to any sealing or finishing.  Since it will serve as a dinig table, I thought I'd need some more protection than just the hand rubbed sheen.

   Thanks again

1. 
   Rich14 | Aug 23, 2008 11:34pm | #6

   Geoff,As with all woods that change color with exposure to air and light, there is no telling from one sample to another how long and to what degree the change will be. That's part of the mystique.I have some small pieces that became as dark, losing contrast, as they ever were going to be in days. I also have some examples that darkened a little immediately, then slowly, but noticeably continued to change over a period of several years. But they never became anywhere near as dark as the first example, and continued to hold vivid contrast between reds, purples and yellows.I would not worry at all about the color. Let the wood do what it is going to do. It's going to, anyway.Most commercial finishing for furniture is lacquer. Dining room tables are generally considered to be more in the "fine furniture" category than kitchen tables. Dining tables usually get a lacquer finish, kitchen tables, a varnish under the assumption that varnish is "tougher" to withstand the "rougher" treatment that kitchen tables are likely to get.In truth, lacquer and shellac are as durable a finish as can be applied, and are so easy to repair that damage is really not a big deal. It's a moot point. You can't put varnish on cocobolo.I wouldn't hesitate to use shellac on a cocobolo dining table, although if I were to say something like that, this thread would get all kinds of responses about how vulnerable shellac is to water and alcohol. It's really not vulnerable to water, unless puddles are left on it for a long time. And while alcohol can be a problem, the finish is so easy to repair, that a table like that in the possession of its maker is in good hands. Besides, one is supposed to use table pads plus a water-proof cover plus a table cloth on a dining table!My choice for the finish is lacquer. Either nitrocellulose or CAB Acrylic. There is no difference in their application or solvents. Nitro will add a warming color to the wood, will tend to yellow itself as it ages and tend to make it look darker. CAB Acrylic will add no color and will not itself yellow. The difference between the two on a wood like cocobolo is purely a personal preference. I use CAB Acrylic for all my lacquer finishing.Lacquer is best sprayed. If you have no spraying facilities, there are brushing lacquers, but only in nitrocellulose form to my knowledge.While there are no secrets to finishing cocobolo with lacquer or shellac, don't expect to be able to do this on the table itself if you haven't done it many times before. Cocobolo will really test you. Practice on scraps. Apply as many coats as you think you need, rub out. Scratch your head at the "problems." Sand it off, do it again. And again.Eventually it will all come out the way it's supposed to and it won't seem that you're doing anything differently than the first run through. The wood will just give in and accept that you know what you're doing.BTW, even a "thin" film, rubbed out to look like a close-to-the-wood oiled finish will be very protective. My definition of a thin film is 3 light applications each day for 3 days. With level sanding at the start of day 2 and 3, then level sanding and rubbing out at about day 5-6.Rich