fair.child said:
I am getting curious about y'all opinion for Wenge Rosewood neck. Should I put a finish on it? If yes, what kind of finish should I apply?
No. Nothing.
fair.child said:
Some of folks said you won't need any finish for Wenge/Rosewood neck since the neck itself is considered oily. Some folks said Tru-oil will do the work.
Both of those woods contain natural oils, but it's not like what you might be imagining. They're
not "oily". When you pick up a chunk of Wenge or Rosewood, you will have no sense of there being any kind of oil in/on them. They will feel as dry as any other wood. When botanists/chemists/materials engineers talk about the "oil" in those woods, they're talking about "essential oils". It's a whole different kind of thing.
Most tropical woods have evolved natural defenses against attack from insects, molds, fungi, bacteria etc. because of where they grow. The growing season is basically 24/7/365, so there's no respite against opportunistic micro-organisms, insects, and animals. It's why when you go to any equatorial region, you'll find they have cockroaches the size of beer cans, rats the size of cats, spiders with automatic weapons, ceramic teeth and preternatural intelligence, and all sorts of wild-ass diseases that sound like something Stephen King came up with in a fever dream. The environment encourages them to thrive. You go further north or south, and seasonal changes kill off enough of those parasites/predators that they never get out of hand or evolve into something that would even frighten Australians.
Those essential oils are what do the trick that allows those plants/bushes/trees and their seeds to survive. They're chemical compounds that contain natural insecticides, herbicides, both repellent and attractive odors, etc. and keep them more or less safe and able to reproduce. They also usually don't allow things to stick to them, so trying to add a coating can be an interesting exercise in man vs. nature.
Thing is, they exist in very small amounts. Apparently, they're highly effective, so more's law never set in, where some is good, more's better and too much is just right.
Anyway, I'm burning up daylight here making a short story long. Don't finish those woods. Burnish them. You'll be glad you did.