Starting to look like pine. Advice please!

Hi all,
I've been working this nice slab of himalayan cedar into our dinner table. Prior to being oiled it was a lovely soft pink and pale blonde colour. After sanding it I gave it a coat of Danish oil, and immediately it had started to take on a cheap pine look which I am not keen on. Any advice for retaining the original character of the cedar?

Before:
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...c6cfe36e1e.jpg

After :
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...d95a535c56.jpg

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This is it's natural colour immediately being cut from a log.
So you can see it is quite yellow in its natural state.
Attachment 409100

Did you putting plain water on it - that is the most likely look for most finishes especially oils which nearly always darkens wood.
Have you got any pieces left? If so I would experiment with different finishes and see what you get.
Sometimes water based clear finishes give a slightly lighter finish.
If you want a really light colour you might want to lightly bleach the timber, This will probably kill the pink colour though
Whatever you do try definitely try with another piece of wood first

BTW I would have thought that Himalayan cedar would be too soft for a table top?
How was the aroma while you were sanding it? - with a big area like that I would have thought it would have almost over powering?

To be honest I don't really know what I'm doing as I'm new to this. I got hold of the slab cheaply and happened to be in the need of a table.. The smell was quite lovely actually, not overpowering at all. Most of the cutting and sanding was done outside though. I did try using water and was happy with the colour. I think the overall effect has brought out the small dark knots which adds to the pine effect.
I've got a water based polyurethane finish which I was planning to finish with for durability. I'm thinking perhaps a light fine sand might knock back the outer oil layer and perhaps deintensify the oil.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by jadasa

To be honest I don't really know what I'm doing as I'm new to this. I got hold of the slab cheaply and happened to be in the need of a table.. The smell was quite lovely actually, not overpowering at all. Most of the cutting and sanding was done outside though. I did try using water and was happy with the colour. I think the overall effect has brought out the small dark knots which adds to the pine effect.
I've got a water based polyurethane finish which I was planning to finish with for durability. I'm thinking perhaps a light fine sand might knock back the outer oil layer and perhaps deintensify the oil.

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You will probably need to sand the wood back a lot more than a "fine sand" to get the PU to adhere to the wood. You might also find it will be a patchy finish because the oil will have penetrated to different depths into the wood. Do you have any pieces you can try this out of first?

What BobL said!

If you can get back to raw timber (requires quite aggressive sanding) I have found the Estapol brand water-based, crystal clear satin polyurethane to add no (or very very little at most) colour on Hoop Pine items I have made (I have no financial or other connection with Estapol). Unfortunately, I have been told that, at least here in Brisbane, the Wattyl brand products can be hard to find now that Masters have gone. I don't think the big green shed stocks their products any more but independent paint sellers like "the Paint Place" may do so. It may be different wherever you are in "AU".

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Xanthorrhoeas

Unfortunately, I have been told that, at least here in Brisbane, the Wattyl brand products can be hard to find now that Masters have gone. I don't think the big green shed stocks their products any more but independent paint sellers like "the Paint Place" may do so. It may be different wherever you are in "AU".

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Solver paint stores sell Wattyl products.

Conversely Wattyl stores sell Solver Paints, maybe this has something to do with the fact that Solver was bought out by Wattyl some years ago.

Then, when Masters was coming opening up, partnered with Lowes in the US, the biggest supplier of paint to Lowes, Valspar, bought out Wattyl and became the biggest supplier of paint to Masters.

In the process of course Wattyl lost the Bunnings business, and has now lost the Masters business.

The last "Wattyl consumer branded store" closed down in Perth some time ago.
There are a few Solver stores still running but my local one doesn't seem to have many customers in them when I go there.
The Wattyl website lists 15 other hardware in Perth as selling Wattly paints including a small hardware near by which is handy.
There's also a couple of "Wattyl industrial" paint suppliers which I have been too
Don't know about the rest of Oz

I haven't used enough danish oil to know if it can be stained. If it can adding a red spirit stain to the oil might get you back to the soft pink you desire.

In terms of getting back to the soft pink wood colour which originally attracted the OP. I think a first step will be to try and remove some of the danish oil finish. I'd firstly try an aggressive paint stripper on an inconspicuous area to see how much of the varnish in the danish oil can be removed. Then after an aggressive sand of the surface, working through the grits from 60 or 80 up to around 240, I'd go with a soft pink spirit stain to enhance the desired pink colour. Unless all the oil can be removed, I'm not confident that a water based stain will have much effect.

If the desire is to coat with a water based polyurethane, then I suggest a barrier coating of shellac (possibly stained) is required.

Danish oil, containing linseed oil, will darken the timber which is what you'd expect on OP's slab. All polyurethane will also darken the timber, particularly the oil based variety which also contain linseed oil.
The truly non darkening coatings are shellac and epoxy.

According to its MSDS, Cabot's Danish Oil (Feast Watson Scandinavian Oil) is 60% mineral turps, at least 30-60% synthetic polymers, with the balance being "ingredients determined not to be hazardous" which might be linseed oil

(Yeah, I know the proportions add to more than 100%. But that's what the MSDS says.)

Try the Osmo raw mate. It's got a mild white pigment in it and it keeps the natural colour of the timber.

Patience seems to be a virtue. After leaving it for 24 hours if seems that the colour has deintensified a little on its own accord. Much less orange now. I'll give it another 24 hours and re-evaluate.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by jadasa

Patience seems to be a virtue. After leaving it for 24 hours if seems that the colour has deintensified a little on its own accord. Much less orange now. I'll give it another 24 hours and re-evaluate.

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Where is it going to be located? It will change in time anyway, sometimes they fade, or go yellowish. If outside, even under cover it tends to grey.

Inside. Are you specifically referring to the himalayan cedar? Or oiled timber in general?

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