Author Topic: Buffing a Teak finish on Cocobolo and Bocote?  (Read 4582 times)

Offline Mark McConnell

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Buffing a Teak finish on Cocobolo and Bocote?
« on: February 22, 2017, 04:40:55 PM »
Hey all,

I'm working on finishing up my first three calls and have a question about a Watco Teak Oil finish. I've done four coats (let soak 15 minutes, then dry 24 hours between each coat) and am looking to buff them for as high a shine as I can get.

Questions:
* Should I wait 72 hours to fully cure before buffing?
* I got a medium buffing wheel and Dico buffing compound PBC - do you think this is a good combination for buffing?

Any other tips or hints any of you can give me on getting a nice finish on these calls? Like I said in the subject line, it's cocobolo and bocate wood. They look good just wiped off so far and I'm hoping buffing can take it to a nice level.

Thanks in advance!

Offline LagrueCustomCalls

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Re: Buffing a Teak finish on Cocobolo and Bocote?
« Reply #1 on: February 22, 2017, 11:02:24 PM »
What grit did you sand them to during sanding?
There's a duck call in that block of wood. I just have to find it!

Offline Mark McConnell

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Re: Buffing a Teak finish on Cocobolo and Bocote?
« Reply #2 on: February 23, 2017, 12:17:06 PM »
Took 'em down to 1500 on the lathe. Sanded in both directions (i.e. I switched 'em on the lathe so that I sanded forward and backwards) but did not wet sand at all.
« Last Edit: February 23, 2017, 01:42:01 PM by Mark McConnell »

B Hoover

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Re: Buffing a Teak finish on Cocobolo and Bocote?
« Reply #3 on: February 23, 2017, 11:42:51 PM »
Mark, did you sand with the grain of the wood after sanding on the lathe?  That will make a big difference in your finish.  I would recommend sanding with the teak oil in grits of 600, 1000, 1500 and 2000.  Dip your sandpaper into the oil and sand until you build up a paste-like slurry on the call.  Then sand with the oil/dust in the direction of the wood grain.  Repeat this for each grit of sandpaper from 600 on up.  After that I usually soak the calls for 24 hours with a 48 to 72 hour dry time after each application.  The wood will dictate how many times you soak the call.  Some will require only 2 or 3, but I've had cedar calls that required as many as 8 soakings.  You will have to wipe down the calls every couple of hours for half a day after removing them from the oil as some of the oil will form on the bottom of the call.  Others may do this differently, but I simply buff with Tripoli and a soft cotton wheel.  Hop this helps.

Offline FDR

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Re: Buffing a Teak finish on Cocobolo and Bocote?
« Reply #4 on: February 24, 2017, 09:38:54 AM »
I think what the guys are saying is that if the pores of the wood are not filled then the buffing compound will build up in the unfilled pores and that looks real bad. If you want to bring up the shine just buff lightly with a clean buff and a little wax.
Fred Roe
Reelfoot, the original duck call. What's on your lanyard?

Offline LagrueCustomCalls

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Re: Buffing a Teak finish on Cocobolo and Bocote?
« Reply #5 on: February 24, 2017, 01:58:36 PM »
Agree completely with Fred and Brent.

I finished one last night (very tight grain, small pore wood, some kind of Santos Rosewood). I first sanded to 800 grit. Then I vacuum impregnated the call with oil and let it soak for 24 hours. After letting it cure for a day, I went back and worked up to 2k grit sanding with the grain with oil as a lubricant to build up the sanding dust/oil slurry which fills the pores. I then let it cure another day. I finally buffed with a wheel and light wax. No compound, just buffing with a 6" wheel and very light wax on the wheel.

Gives a great finish between matte and light gloss.
There's a duck call in that block of wood. I just have to find it!

Offline Mark McConnell

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Re: Buffing a Teak finish on Cocobolo and Bocote?
« Reply #6 on: February 24, 2017, 04:26:21 PM »
Thanks, all, for your comments and advice. So much to learn, but the advice is why I joined this board in the first place!  :2up:

One last (hahaha, not likely) question: what RPM do you run your buffing wheel at with the wax?

Thanks,

Mark
« Last Edit: February 24, 2017, 06:47:53 PM by Mark McConnell »

Offline FDR

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Re: Buffing a Teak finish on Cocobolo and Bocote?
« Reply #7 on: March 01, 2017, 10:44:03 AM »
Thanks, all, for your comments and advice. So much to learn, but the advice is why I joined this board in the first place!  :2up:

One last (hahaha, not likely) question: what RPM do you run your buffing wheel at with the wax?

Thanks,

Mark
The buff is designed to run at 1725rpm. I have a separate buffing system from my lathe but some use a system like the Beall.
http://www.bealltool.com/products/buffing/buffer.php
Fred Roe
Reelfoot, the original duck call. What's on your lanyard?