Finish on a Camphor Bed

[GreenCut]

Hi all,

I have recently taken it upon my very non-woodworking self to build a bed frame, and was wondering if I could attract some advice on what would be the best finish to use.
The bedframe is made of Camphor (see pic of half finished bed head), and has been sanded down with an orbital sander @ 180 grit.

So what I am looking for in a finish is:
- Something that will not be too glossy (oils work for well for this I think - plus not using super-high grit sandpaper)
- Will seal in most of the camphor smell - it's nice, but I think having my head next to it every night would get irritating.
- Will protect the wood from drying out too quickly - I think the headboard slab is still a touch damp, so I would be keen on at least trying to avoid any splits.

What I have tried on some off-cuts so far is: Danish Oil, Scandinavian Teak Oil, and Tung Oil. ( all three really bring out the brown, red and green colours in the wood - looks brilliant!)

Any suggestions?
Cheers!

[GreenCut]

Hi again,

I've decided to go with a oil/poly combo to bring up the colouring and seal in the camphor smell, but which order should apply them in? Should I put down a layer or two of satin poly, followed by a coat or two of Danish oil? Or vice versa?

[gabacus]

from my understanding, Danish oil has poly already in the mix (I think Danish oil is a mix of tung oil, linseed oil and poly). if you use the Danish oil according to the directions, you should not have to put any additional coats of poly on the top.

having said that, if you still want to use both finishes for that extra protection, then i would say use the Danish oil first. The oil components will really bring up the colour and contrast of the grain.

bed looks great by the way. please post some pics of the finished product :)

[GreenCut]

Excellent! I'll go with just the Danish oil then. Any ideas if I would need to seal/ grain fill the timber before applying the oil? The slab especially has some pretty irregular grain that go in and out of the slab plane.

I'll definitely post more piccies :) Maybe I'll do it in the Piccie section as a WIP.