: Has anyone had trouble varnishing Cocobolo (maybe bad spelling, but the black
: and yellow Mexican hardwood)? Varnish won't seem to dry on the stuff.

If you don't get any help here, try contacting a manufacturer of custom handgun grips. Cocobolo is commonly used for that application. Another possibility would be to contact Birchwood-Casey, a manufacturer of wood and metal finishing products for gunsmiths and firearms owners.

FWIW, most firearms related wood finishes are of the oil variety, typically blemds of linseed and tung oils. Perhaps you may want to go that route instead of varnish? Watco Danish oil finishes might be just the trick for cocobolo.