Hi all, I've built a desk top of 3/4" Iroko and I'm trying to decide on a finish. I'm leaning toward Tung oil or a light coat of satin varnish. Anybody have experience with this?
Thanks...

I've never heard of Iroko however I know how to finish teak. If you plan to put enough tung oil on it to make a film finish you need to prepare the wood like you would with a varnish. Since the wood has a high natural oil content it should be wiped down several times with acetone frequently changing rags. This removes much of the oil from the surface which can cause adhesion problems.

Thanks Steve - Iroko looks kinda like teak and machines very much like it, but it isn't as oily. I just checked some of the scraps I put oil and varnish on earlier and it seems like the varnish left a more even finish. Probably because it's thicker than the oil - the density of the grain varies greatly in each piece. I'm gonna keep experimenting...

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The top picture is of Iroko that I finished with Teak Oil. The Iroko wood is the two drawer units that I added to my boat.

The second picture is of the helm station. As this was outside (under a hard top) I probably put a finish on it. However, I cannot remember from several years ago.

I do remember that I had to do nothing special.

George

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Nice work George. I'm looking forward to a boat project with this stuff...

After trying Tung, Formby's, varnish, etc on scraps, I finally decided on straight varnish to give it a little harder finish. I was a little concerned about using oil on a desktop anyway. I rubbed a coat on yesterday with a rag and it looks good. I was surprised that it didn't even raise the grain noticeably. A little fine sandpaper or steel wool and it'll be ready for another wipe or two.

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Can you please, show a top down picture of the grain.
From this angle, the end grain and top, it looks like a good piece of pine.
For all the concerns you're having about how to finish it, what makes Iroko worth it?

Iroko looks like a combination of teak and mahogany to me (I'm a fan of both). It's very dense and when quarter-sawn has a golden sheen. This website shrinks my 1mb pic down to 47kb - doesn't do it justice, but maybe you can see the grain.

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I can see it just fine, thank you. It does have good grain and color. I hope you get it finished satisfactorily.