I recently picked up a scrap of Cocobolo, which I'm now using for a
small Christmas project. I noticed that when I sanded the wood, it
lost its red hue. I'm guessing the red hue will reappear if given
enough exposure to oxygen, which brings up the question of how exactly
should I finish the wood? I need the final product to be resistant to
oil and water (it will be used in a kitchen). I have obviously never
worked with the wood before, and could use any advise.


John

Cocobolo has so much natural oil in it that it finishes beautifully with a
simple penetrating oil finish. After it's dry - wax it well and buff it out
and you'll be amazed at the color you'll see in it.
If you really need the water resistance then you need something with a good
surface build like a poly. I'd use oil based just to help bring out the
colors of the cocobolo.
Best finish I've ever done on cocobolo was using the Beall buffing wheel
system. 3 successive runs through a buffing wheel (1st - tripoli compound,
2nd - white diamond compound, 3rd - carnuba wax) gave it the most incredible
gloss. Downside is that it's not at all a durable finish. Works well for
things like jewerly boxes and other things not exposed to water.

Gary in KC


"julvr" wrote in message
...
I recently picked up a scrap of Cocobolo, which I'm now using for a
small Christmas project. I noticed that when I sanded the wood, it
lost its red hue. I'm guessing the red hue will reappear if given
enough exposure to oxygen, which brings up the question of how exactly
should I finish the wood? I need the final product to be resistant to
oil and water (it will be used in a kitchen). I have obviously never
worked with the wood before, and could use any advise.


John