I made a box out of pomelle bubinga. It didn't show very well with just
oil, so I left a few weeks hoping it would improve, but it didn't. Today I
sanded it with 600 and put on a few coats of wipe on varnish. Doesn't
improve any.

I took another piece of the same wood, sanded it to 600 and put mineral
spirits on it. The figure was extraordinary.

So whats going on here? Did the oil kill the figure somehow?