Cedar of Lebanon

[Solicitus]

So I made a bandsawn box a few years back out of cedar of Lebanon. I finished it with polyurethane varnish and it was a disaster. I am assuming that the oils in the wood affected the cure, and part of it always felt slightly sticky. I stripped all the finish off it a while ago, and left it resting in a pile of shavings. Now I want to refinish it. There is no noticeable aroma left. I wondered about finishing with a spray lacquer, or just shellac and wax. If it go's wrong this time then it's for the fire. Any advice or suggestions ?

 

[johnnyb]

why not just wax it(after stripping it back).

 

[Solicitus]

why not just wax it(after stripping it back).

I could do that. I had persuaded myself that perhaps the cedar should be sealed first in case the oils in the wood kept bleeding. To be fair however there is no sign of that - it's appears to be very dry.

 

[profchris]

Softwood is a terror for absorbing more or less finish in places, thus the blotching.

My approach is to try to seal the surface with one or two very thin coats first, before applying the remainder. With shellac I dilute it and then wipe one just enough to damp, not wet, the surface, and repeat a couple of times.

I'd guess a couple of mist coats of spray lacquer might work too.

 

[Craig22]

One of the main attributes of cedar of lebanon is its ability to discourage clothes moths. The bottom and back of the drawers in chest of drawers I built for our bedroom are cedar of lebanon for that reason, and are unfinished for the clothes moth reason.

If you are using it for a decorative wood, danish oil works well. But it soaks it up like a sponge, so beware.

 

[Lefley]

Wipe down a few times with mineral sprits of naphtha to get rid of the surface oils leaking out of wood. Then apply a couple of coats of thinned shellac Letting dry between each coat. Then lightly sand any nubs down. The Alcohol in the shellac will also help with the oil. Then when the shellac has dried apply your finish of choice.

 

[Solicitus]

Just an update. Went for the wax only finish - 2 good coats and buffed up with a wheel in my drill. Looks absolutely fine. Many thanks.

 

[Spindrift]

I

Just an update. Went for the wax only finish - 2 good coats and buffed up with a wheel in my drill. Looks absolutely fine. Many thanks.

I started turning a bowl in Cedar of Lebanon this morning. This isn't a wood I've turned before and I immediately noticed its slightly oily nature. As it is almost a year since your update, have you noticed any problems with the finish you applied then? I have to complete this bowl by Friday (no pressure!), so if there are any possible problems now would be a good time for me to abandon it and start again with a different blank.

Thanks.

 

[Roland]

You could finish the bowl with Osmo, with wax on top if you want it shiny. In 2015 I took down a neighbour’s Cedar of Lebanon, planked it, and stacked for drying. Since then I’ve built a number of guitars with it, and finished them with Osmo 3032. For the first five years the knots still oozed resin. The Osmo coped with that. I’ve also used Osmo 3032 (satin) and 3011 (gloss) on turned bowls.

 

[Solicitus]

I

I started turning a bowl in Cedar of Lebanon this morning. This isn't a wood I've turned before and I immediately noticed its slightly oily nature. As it is almost a year since your update, have you noticed any problems with the finish you applied then? I have to complete this bowl by Friday (no pressure!), so if there are any possible problems now would be a good time for me to abandon it and start again with a different blank.

Thanks.

I'm not aware of any issue - the last time I saw it was the autumn I think and it had worked out fine. My sister has it, and she is quick enough to point out any faults, so I suspect if it had not been satisfactory I would have heard !!

 

[Spindrift]

I

I started turning a bowl in Cedar of Lebanon this morning. This isn't a wood I've turned before and I immediately noticed its slightly oily nature. As it is almost a year since your update, have you noticed any problems with the finish you applied then? I have to complete this bowl by Friday (no pressure!), so if there are any possible problems now would be a good time for me to abandon it and start again with a different blank.

Thanks.

Just to update everyone who has kindly contributed to this discussion, in the end I left the bowl without a finish as it was mutually decided that, notwithstanding the potential difficulties of applying a finish, the smell of the cedar was too good to cover up and it would be nice for the room to be fragranced.

Everybody's happy!