Thread: opinions on stains or poly U for redgum

A stain won't protect the timber it just tints it whatever the stain color is supposed to be (within reason) and I like doing a small test piece using an offcut to ensure the color if what you'd like.

Any decent Polyurethane finish will work fine. Spray on would be best I think but if you're not spraying, brush on or wipe on poly will be fine. Could also look at epoxy coatings if you want to fill all the little gaps in the burl. A bit more work involved, though.

For something like that I'd prefer to go for a good Danish Oil finish. PolyU is nice & durable, but oils make the grain pop and enhance the colour. More importantly, to me, oil finishes are much easier to repair in case of damage than PolyU. (PolyU is normally sand back to bare timber and recoat.)

Mind you, it seems to be a marketing trend to label some PolyU blends as "Danish Oil." Personally I avoid these.

You should also consider whether you'll want to fill the voids - and what with - before settling on a finish. The filler and finish need to be compatible if you don't want a slew of headaches...

I used U-Beaut hard shellac on recycled red gum with a great result.
It was a blanket box which I posted on here but I think the picture has been lost with a lot of others in the "crash" a couple of years ago