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I have been given a fine small board of curly Koa. Since I have never worked or finished curly Koa, I need some help. It seems to be somewhat open-pored like walnut but not as large pores.
should I fill the grain to get it smooth? what have some of you done in finishing curly koa?
JR
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YOu are lucky if you have some curly Koa. I don't know if you are aware of it, but Koa is a rare and therefore very expensive wood found in Hawaii. I lived there for 5 years and made some trunks out of koa. A rocking chair made out of Koa, for example, sells for about $3,000. I bought a piece of Koa plywood for about $200. Very expensive but a beautiful wood. It is a very hard wood, but finishes beautifully. I have used Watco Natural Oil and it turned out great. Don't think you will need to fill the pores. Dampen the wood w/ a sponge to see how an oil finish will bring out the curly. The curlier the wood, the more expensive it is. Someone from Hawaii must have given you the wood. Good luck
*Koa tends to chip, and curly koa tends to chip badly. I surface curly stock in the drum sander instead of with a planer.Lacquer will give a nice finish; the shinier finishes will bring out the depths in the grain very well, and keep the color a little lighter than oil. I wet wood with lacquer thinner or acetone instead of water so as not to add moisture content to the wood when checking out the "finished" look.I've been in the market for koa and recently found a good supply at Specialty Wood Products in Algona, WA.
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