good finish for oily wood?

[ciscokid]

Can anyone recommend a good finish for oily woods such as Bolivian rosewood or any of it's cousins? Oil finishes like tung oil or boiled linseed oil don't seem to be working. They get blotchy. The finish will be for something like a jewelry box that doesn't see extreme use or handling.

[rsser]

So are you using tung or linseed straight cisco? No solvents?

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

Can't say I've tried Bolivian Rosewood (any spare pieces you can live without? ) but for other oily woods such as Teak and Huon Pine (only the outside! ) I wash it down with solvents a couple of times before applying a heavy coat of Tung Oil, wait about half-an-hour and then wipe off the excess and put aside to dry.

This removes the natural oils from the surface and gives the Tung a chance to penetrate. I'll leave this for a good week at least, to allow the Tung to cure thoroughly, give it a light sand to remove the surface coat (but not any timber!) and then treat is as though I've only applied a sanding sealer. ie. apply further coats as though from scratch.

Works for me. [shrug]

[ciscokid]

So are you using tung or linseed straight cisco? No solvents?

I think I understand the question. Straight I believe. And when I say tung oil, I mean Formby's Tung Oil, which I've heard has little to no actual tung oil in it. [shrug] I just buy the stuff from the hardware store and follow the directions on the can. Wipe on - wipe off. Seems to stay tacky for days and days. My linseed oil is just a can that says "Boiled Linseed Oil". Not sure of the brand. Works well on maple and such. Hit rosewood with it and it won't dry.

[kiwigeo]

Both Shellac and nitro go ok on Indian and Brazillian Rosewood...used extensively on guitar sides/backs. I know of luthiers using a variety of other finishes on rosewood without too many problems. Rosewood can be given a light wipe with acetone or meths before finishing or gluing if youre worried about the oil in the wood causing problems.

[rsser]

Well I only (think) I know two things about Virginia: one has to do with the (uni?) library when it burned down, and the other is that it's humid.

I'd back Skew's advice.

Apart from that, Huon Pine is the only oily timber I use and I treat that with n/c sanding sealer and wax but only because that gives me less darkening than oil-based finishes.

If in fact it is humid, and you have an oily timber then I would certainly be looking to finish with something solvent based. DO, is my stuck record.

[ptc]

I used Ubeaut Traditional wax on Huon.
works ok for me ok.