*
I have come by some pieces of coco bolo. Just to see what it looked like I smoothed it to a sheen with my smoothing plane. It is harder than Woodpecker lips. It is also beautiful.
Now, it seems to have a lot of oil in it. Does one wash the surface with mineral spirits before applying a finish? I would like to put a coat of shellac on first then follow up with lacquer or poly.
Thank you.
Jerry
Discussion Forum
Get It All!
UNLIMITED Membership is like taking a master class in woodworking for less than $10 a month.
Start Your Free TrialCategories
Discussion Forum
Digital Plans Library
Member exclusive! – Plans for everyone – from beginners to experts – right at your fingertips.
Highlights
-
Shape Your Skills
when you sign up for our emails
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. -
Shop Talk Live Podcast -
Our favorite articles and videos -
E-Learning Courses from Fine Woodworking
-
-
Replies
*
Be careful with cocobolo because it can cause skin problems like poison ivy. If you are allergic to poison ivy it can also effect your lungs as you cut it and inhale the dust. Personally I stay away from cocobolo for that reason. Just a word of warning.
*Jerry, I would seriously re-think using shellac on cocobolo or any "rosewood" family wood. I have just stripped down my morado Christmas gift box (Yes it's the end of January darn it!) for the third time due to the fact that the shellac (freshly made from dewaxed flakes) just would not dry. The oil in the wood inhibits the shellac from drying adequately to allow leveling the finish. Sanding just tore at the finish and freshly sanded surfaces would allow deep finger printing into the finish. Just hoping I can help someone else avoid this mistake. I am practically bald now from all the hair-tearing after "finishing" this box for four weeks now.
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled