Rosewood

[Bob Strand]

I turned a 7"x 1 1/2" rosewood bowl with 5/8 segmented maple top. Both pieces of wood are over 20 years old. I put a coat of Minwax Wipeon Poly on it. Its been 7 days and there still a slightly tacky,gummy feel to it. If I push my thumb on it it will show a blush. It will wipe of but I don't think it should be like that. I was expecting a hard, buffable finish. Its a new can of finish so I can't see it being a shelf life thing, if that is likely. This is one coat and I'd like to have at least 3 coats but I'm afraid to apply more the way it is. Appreciate any input.

Thanks,

Bob

 

[John Torchick]

I'm far from an expert (I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express once) on finishes but how old is the poly? Any exposure to extreme temperatures? Room humidity? BTW, any problems with this batch before this application? Just guessing here.

 

[Odie]

Bob.....

Some rosewoods can be a bit oily and resistant to absorption of a finish. Since you also have maple in this piece, you might want to check and see if the two species are absorbing the WOP equally.

ko

 

[Bill Boehme]

What Odie said is the problem. The oils in some tropical wood and even eastern red cedar sometimes will be enough to cause polyurethane varnish to remain gummy. The cure is to first clean the surface with lacquer thinner and then apply a one-pound cut of dewaxed shellac to seal against oils that later might interact with the varnish. Sometimes even that is not enough.