Thread: Need a little help with finishing scales.

Hello,

Im making 4 sets of cocobolo scales at the moment and wanted to try a few different finishes. One with ca, one with Polyurethane, one with an epoxy finish, and the last one in Minwax Polycrylic. The ca and Polyurethane Ive done before on other wood working projects but have never used an epoxy finish or polycrylic. Any brand of epoxy finish that you guys like to use? I had the Minwax Polycrylic already so I thought I would try it out on scales. Anyone have any experience using it? Is it worth a damn when water gets on it?

Thanks,

Chris

cocbolo is naturally oily wood and not all finishes will work on it.
Of the 4 you listed I'd go for CA and Epoxy, the rest are not going to work too well. You can try the Poly finishes starting with a wash coat and then applying a few more layers, if they do not work well you can always sand the scales to clean .
Epoxy that works well would be System 3 Epoxy for example.

Because Cocobolo is such an naturally oily wood I would suggest you try Tung Oil or Renaissance Wax. You can buff or not when done. Both will give you a fine finish and protective coat.

I know you did not mention these in you list of for but I thought I'd mention them as another option.

Have fun.

If you use the poly finishes, wipe the coco with laquer thinner first. Sometimes this will work and allow the poly to dry - operant word - sometimes. I agree with CTKnife - just finished two sets using tung oil. If you try tung oil, thin the first coat with turpentine. Keep putting on tung oil until it won't dry - this tells you you are done. Wipe and polish.

Hello,

Thanks for all the info! I didnt realize that cocobolo was so oily. Im going to try the ca and epoxy finish tonight. Tomorrow Ill get some tung oil and try that the fallowing day. Is Polyurethane ok to use on zebra wood, red oak and black palm??? Ill be using them on the next 4 razors and 2 brushes Im dong.

Thanks,

Chris

My suggestion works for all oily tropical hardwoods - Blackwood, Rosewood, Ebony, Bubinga, etc.. Zebra, probably. Red Oak is no problem with Poly. I have never worked with Black Palm

Originally Posted by socalkid

Hello,

Thanks for all the info! I didnt realize that cocobolo was so oily. Im going to try the ca and epoxy finish tonight. Tomorrow Ill get some tung oil and try that the fallowing day. Is Polyurethane ok to use on zebra wood, red oak and black palm??? Ill be using them on the next 4 razors and 2 brushes Im dong.

Thanks,

Chris

Hello,

How long do I need to wait before I sand and apply the next coat of ca???

Thanks,

Chris