# oily woods and acetone



## DonK (Nov 30, 2007)

What are some of the oily exotics that would benefit from a wipedown of acetone before finishing?

Don


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## redfishsc (Dec 1, 2007)

When in doubt, use acetone. It won't hurt any wood.

However, off the top of my head, here goes

anything called "rosewood" will likely be oily
sam thing for "teaks".....................
blackwood
ebony
lignum vitae
bocote
morado
mallee
thuya
tulipwood
cocobolo
olivewood
kingwood


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## Ligget (Dec 1, 2007)

How about this theory, you wipe the outside surface of an oily blank with acetone or DA, you apply several coats of CA glue like on non oily woods to get your lovely crystal clear finish.

A while later, oil which was lying deeper in the blank wicks up to the surface and causes a cloudy/dull patch on the CA finish.

This is only MY personal opinion, it happened to me, with pens I had kept on a display at home.

I was glad I seen it and it didn`t happen when a customer had paid good money for it. So now if I reckon the wood is oily, I finish with Enduro! [^][]


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## maxwell_smart007 (Dec 1, 2007)

Redfish - it's driving me crazy...is that an excerpt from the Odyssey?  

My university Greek is very rusty...


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## leehljp (Dec 1, 2007)

I had a cloudy finish once after wiping with alcohol, but not Acetone. I use acetone occasionally on ebonies and have not had a cloudy finish with mine. Most of my ebonies (but not all) have been from local ebonies and not kiln dried. Some very oily, some not. No problem with acetone yet for me. But I don't think it is fair to compare my results with Marks above, as sometimes there are differences in some brands of same chemicals and also woods from different areas.


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## TellicoTurning (Dec 1, 2007)

I'm relatively new with the Ca finish, but getting good results so far.  I make it a practice to wipe all woods with acetone.. don't use DNA much.


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## redfishsc (Dec 4, 2007)

> _Originally posted by maxwell_smart007_
> <br />Redfish - it's driving me crazy...is that an excerpt from the Odyssey?
> 
> My university Greek is very rusty...



Depending on which university you went to, the Greek may not be what you learned. I believe the Odyssey was written in Classical Greek, but the quote above is from Koine Greek (ie, New Testament). 

It is John 14:6. Just so I don't hijack the thread, I'll let you look it up[] in the english.


Ligget-- I am not sure that the oil that was deeper in the blank caused the dull spot. I have had woods like maple and oak burl get the dull spots. There is just something going on that people have not nailed down as to what the culprit is. This is the exact reason why I use a catalyzed varnish. I DO seal the blanks with two coats of CA/BLO sanded back fairly heavily, and the haze never shows up under the varnish. Basically I am using a solvent-based finish not unlike Enduro, which is waterborn.


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## RussFairfield (Dec 4, 2007)

I don't know how to emphasize this, so pardon me for shouting.

MOISTURE IS THE MOST COMMON CAUSE OF CLOUDY FINISHES.

All alcohols will absorb moisture from the atnmosphere at a fairly rapid rate. Therefore, the alcohol in every opened can will contain some percentage of water. Some people use Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol, and that is labeled on the bottle as being 30% water. That moisture is carried into the wood with the alcohol and remains there after the alcohol has evaporated. If you use alcohol, you should give the wood time for the moisture to evaporate again, otherwise you are trying to put a finish on wet wood.

Acetone absorbs moisture from the air slowly, and most of the time it can be considered as being "moisture free". However, even "slowly" can become a considerable quantity over a long period of time in a humid climate, and especially if it is a hot and humid climate.

You will have better luck if you are always using a fresh supply of alcohols and acetones and throw away anything that is over a year old. This is a case where buying by the gallon is not always a good idea. You might stretch this a bit if you live in a dry desert climate. I would suspect that replacing old solvents with a fresh supply would make most of the cloudy finishes disappear.


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## C. Scott (Dec 4, 2007)

I used to wipe down the blanks with Acetone or DNA prior to finishing.  Now I don't wipe it with anything but a dry paper towel after sanding.  I then lay down one coat of thin CA with the sanding dust on the paper towel and the lathe turning at 800 rpm.  Then 5 to 7 coats of thick with accelerant sprayed on each coat.  I haven't had any problems since then.  This is with Wenge, Blackwood, and Ebony plus everything else I use a CA finish on.  Just my two cents. []

(I had to edit my post after I saw the comment about accelerant.  THAT has made a huge difference in my CA finish process.)


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## Grizzlyss (Dec 4, 2007)

I have used Alcohol, but always 99% pure, with no problems. The same with Acetone, but as Dario has proposed on numerous occasions, try CA Accelerator, using that I have never had a problem either, and my shop/garage is normally pretty cool (hopefully that will be fixed in a couple of days).

Sheldon


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## DonK (Dec 11, 2007)

Thanks for the ideas and ident.on woods. There is a ton of information and ideas to absorb. I will consider all equally and keep following the learning curve.

Don


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## CrazyBear (Dec 13, 2007)

I also tried Alcohol but the wife kept giving me Funny looks when i disapeared down to my shed with a bottle of Malt whisky[][][][]

But seriously guys I think you have just solved my finishing problems on Macasser Ebony. Cant get it to shine at all. I will try wiping it with the wifes nail varnish remover ( Thats acetone aint it[][])


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