[jartzh]

Cedar seems to be a challenge to finish. I have only had luck with a polyurethane coat over both the heart and sap wood. Has anybody found a good oil finish for red cedar (tung oil, danish oil, ...)?

[Paul_Guraedy]

I have had the best luck by using tung oil. I make sure that the room is fairly warm (I prefer 75+), apply a light coat using a scrap of cloth and give it overnight to dry. I then go over the piece with four O or 5 O steel wool. Wipe it down with a clean cloth, and put on another light coat of tung oil. This time I give it several hours to dry (no longer tacky to touch) and put on another coat. Then do another overnighter to give these last coats plenty of time to dry. One more time with the steel wool making sure the carving is smooth and I apply a final coat. This gives me the four coats that I like to have on there. I use Formby's low gloss tung oil. I have tried a few others but found them to be more mineral spirit than tung. The high gloss seems to have more varnish than the low gloss and I achieve the same effect by putting on more coats.

[Logan]

I built a cedar chest for my daughter's graduation 4 years ago. I fininshed it with a polyurethane finish semi gloss. It was beautiful the first year and then began flaking and peeling at the knots. Now, I will have to re-finish it.

What finish should I use ?

[Mottles]

Hi Logan and welcome, sorry to hear about the finish on the cedar chest you made. I can't give you any suggestions, but I'd like to give to a link to another forum on this site. It's the Painting & Finishing Forum, you might get more viewers that can help you with your problem.
Wood Finishing and Painting - Woodcarving Illustrated Message Board
Kathy

[Larry A.]

Hi Logan, and welcome. I haven't made a chest, but I've been carving small things in cedar, and I was told the best finish, because of the volatiles in the wood, is a wax. I've been using minwax Paste Finishing Wax. It gives a hard finish, nice lustre when buffed, can be rewaxed if it becomes dull etc. All my stuff is new, so I can't personally vouch for the longevity of waxing, but it's the direction I've been pointed by others.
Good Luck!

Larry

[Ashbys]

Could I ask what type of red cedar ?

Western or aromatic (Eastern Red )?

Sealing Eastern red , will remove the aromatic effect. If you want the effect and the deep red tone , seal the visable side. clear gloss deft, natural oil cabots , or johnson paste wax will all keep the bright red. Cabots natural deck sealer will add a slight shade of yellow to the white , but holds well to the outdooor use and gives UV protection.

If you want the aromatic effect at it's best sand to a high finish and leave it natural .

Ash

[AlArchie]

I still have a small aromatic cedar "chest" I made as a wood shop project back in 7th grade. (1956 if my memory hasn't failed altogether) The finish is still in very good shape. What finish? Two coats of shellac, sanded between coats and finished with a good quality varnish. Don't ask me what brand varnish. Most of the supplies for our school's woodshop were donated by local merchants and manufactures. Thinking back, it seems that Ford made it's "Woody" body parts in Kingsford, Mi at the time, and we used a lot of the left over veneers and oak trim strips for projects. Some of the varnish we used was also left over from when the Ford plant shut down.

That plant was a mixed blessing; they are still cleaning up the Ford and Kingsford Chemical super fund brownfield.

The wooden troop transport gliders built in the early 40's for the invasion of Germany were also built at the Ford plant there. They were probably the first "Stealth" aircraft. Designed to be made from wood and fabric as to be radar transparent with no engines so as to approach silently. Only problem was they had a hard time landing on the uneven ground and wound up injuring a lot of our soldiers in the resultant controlled crashes.

OK, not much to do with finishing cedar, but I tend to ramble a lot....sorry.

Al

[Just Carving]

I carve small stuff--pins, ornaments, etc. I use Rustoleum Spray cans of high gloss lacquer. I usually give the pieces 5 coats with enough time in between coats for the lacquer to dry. No sanding. So far, I'm happy with the results. Since I only use paints for features--eyes, noses, etc. on the critters, the lacquer really brings out the wood color and grain. The lacquer does darken the wood color a little but it looks fine to me.

Bob L

[Jim-Iowa]

On the intarsia projects Jo and I have done we used a satin Homer Formsby Tung oil finish They have been displayed for interior use and have shown no indication of deteriating a couple were made in 1991 so after 17 yrs their holding up well. It is not a pure Tung oil, but an oil Poly blend. While you can create your own blends this has become my favorite out of the bottle finish. I am however experimenting with Watco Danish oil on a Cherry stockedTennesee percussion rifle.

[Ashbys]

Al ,

Hard to beat that finish for anything. It last for years . I made an aromatic book stand , finished the outside edges and left the hidden edges open , the entire room smells of cedar , I just love the stuff.

I am glad you posted , and I never knew about the glider being made there , cool !


Ash