Finishes for Red Cedar

My son is making a "slab" furniture coffee table as a project in Industrial Design at school. He has chosen a recovered section of Australian Red Cedar (toona australis) for the top and is seeking advice on how it should be finished.

Can anybody assist with some ideas on appropriate finishes that they have used successfully.:)

Cedar of course is relatively soft and for use as a coffee table a finish that will not be affected by heat and one that is easy to apply and touch up makes a lot of sense.

Aussie cedar comes up well with a shellac finish, either built up with many coats , or as a sanding sealer under oil. Avoid using any of the polyurethane finishes, (possibly excepting wipe-on poly - haven't tried it) as they look like plastic wrap.

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Originally Posted by Wirraway

Cedar of course is relatively soft and for use as a coffee table a finish that will not be affected by heat and one that is easy to apply and touch up makes a lot of sense.

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Why not pm Neil ( Ubeaut) and see what he suggests, he not only ownes the forum but he also produces including some of the best for finishing, :2tsup:

Rgds

Thanks guys for the suggestions. Shellac is a logical solution but time is precious when you have to do the project at school and a shellac finish can be time consuming.

I will try the pm to ubeaut.:)

Cedar's not the best timber for a coffee table but if you're sold on it then Ubeaut's hard shellac would give the finish that brings the best out of the timber while providing reasonalbe protection.

But apply a few coats of normal shellac first.

I like the softer finishes too.

Cedar looks good with an oil finish and it is easy to apply and repair. The cedar will get a few dings with use which suits the slab style. My worry would be rings from hot or cold glasses. They look terrible. You don't want t have to use coasters on the table.

I used an epoxy on a dining table. The finish shatters when a heavy glass bumps the table. The timber flexes but the finish doesn't. The heavy finish would look better on a pub bar in my opinion.

I have used Feast and Watsons Floorseal. It works pretty well. It still looks like estapol though.

My preference is to use several coats of Danish oil/1/3 Floorseal mix. The look is like an oil finish but it is more durable.

Neil will have better suggestions I'm sure.

Cedar looks good with any finish! If I were making a coffee table/bar I would be looking for functionality. While polyurethane may not be the trendiest finish around, but it sure beats shellac where there are hot and/or alcoholic drinks around. And no-one said you have to use the "gloss" version. Danish Oil is another option which hardens the timber somewhat.

Shellac (really french polish) gives a beautiful finish when applied well, but I reckon is unsuitable for a coffee table or any surface that will have heat and/or moisture on it. And it offers almost no extra protection from physical markings as it is quite soft. But . . . I haven't used the more recent commercially made shellac finishes which might be harder.

On Aussie red cedar and a range of other timbers I have used polyurethane matt finish with great success (IMHO). For various uses I have also used 50:50 matt & satin to give greater depth to the finish. You will need at least two coats and mostly three with a light sand and wipe off with a very fine (240 or finer) sandpaper.

A finish that I reckon looks good is to use the matt polyurethane three coats then allow to dry & harden at least a week (two in winter or cooler climates) then use fine steel wool and scandinavian oil - rubbing in along the grain in long even strokes. This gives a smooth sheen not quite satin and greater depth of grain reflection. When the surface gets used or scratches I just redo with the oil and steel wool - and this removes minor marks or scratches too.

If you do have a french polish finish that is marked with telltale white rings from water or heat I suggest using what my dad always used: 'salad dressing' - a soft cotton cloth dipped in a mixture of 50:50 olive oil and white vinegar.

You can also pick up french polish marks with a light mix of metho & shellac rubbed in with a cotton waste ball.

The practicality is that modern finishes are harder and more utilitarian, but for appearance that is still a personal choice - oiled looks good, shellac (French Polish) is fine too.

I just reckon my matt polyurethane with a rub of scandinavian oil is an effective compromise.