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
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