Polyurethane over Cocobolo ?

Mike Jory

Member
Messages
59
Location
San Francisco East Bay Area
I made a table top from Birdseye Maple and used Cocobolo for "breadboard" style ends. After applying Danish Oil, I wanted to add several coats of wipe on polyurethane. Before putting the polyurethane on the cocobolo, I wiped it with minerial spirits to try to reduce some of the natural oil from the wood.

Of course the maple dried that day - no problem. But even after a couple days, the cocobolo was a bit sticky. So I wiped it with minerial spirits again. Then I used Acitone before the next application of polyurethane. This time I think it's drying a little better, but still takes a couple days.

What am I doing wrong? I thought polyurethane would dry over cocobolo even with natural oils ?

Thanks, Mike
 
The penturning forums deal with finishes over coco frequently. I don't believe I have ever seen a definitive discourse on the subject. Some wipe with denatured alcohol then apply finish and have no problems. Some just apply wax over the bare wood and do OK. Others complain of problems using those techniques. I have done coco pens with various finishes without any special prep and haven't had problems. Dunno :dunno: Go figger :huh:
 
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