I've worked with rosewood before, and as one of the exotics that tend to be oily, I've learned that you need to wipe down rosewood parts with acetone before finishing the wood. I did that religiously, but once I applied the poly, IT WOULD NOT DRY!! I scrubbed it with mineral spirits and acetone, and three times it failed to dry! Must have had lots of oil in it. Anyway, in researching the problem, I learned that wipe on poly requires a chemical reaction (not simple evaporation) to cure hard and dry. The oils in exotic woods contain anti-oxidants which prevent the reaction. So I reached back for an old woodworkers trick. There is a saying: "Shellac sticks to anything, and anything sticks to shellac". I used a base coat of shellac on the bits and supports, and the next coat of poly dried as expected. I'll probably do that every time from now on!
