Thread: Cedar lovers

Originally Posted by IanW

IMO, cedar is one of those woods that cries out to be french-polished, especially if highly-figured. It's a tedious process & the finish isn't as resistant to spills or heat as some, but where it is appropriate, it's hard to bet for the way it brings out the figure & enhances the colour...

Sideboard.jpg

Not the best pic, it's copied from an (old-tech) print & not the sharpest but gives an idea of what it looks like in the flesh (or should that be 'wood'? )

Cheers,

Thanks for reply Ian
So with French polishing does the colour result in a more Brown/Golden tone as opposed to Red?
Log Dog

Originally Posted by Log Dog

.....So with French polishing does the colour result in a more Brown/Golden tone as opposed to Red? ...

Depends on what you use, Chris. The chiffonier above is finished with a mix made from "orange flakes", which used to be the most common form available to amateurs. That will impart an orange tone to the wood, yes. Some folks used to like using "button lac" which is a less refined product, and adds a brownish colour that makes the finished item look more aged. I personally don't like it because all the pieces I've seen finished with it looked "muddy" & it didn't bring out the figure at all like the orange shellac.

Nowadays, you have to chase around for flake shellac, either orange or "blonde" (which is more refined & almost, but not quite collourless). Our benevolent dictator's company sells the orange flakes, not sure about the blond, but they do have pre-mixed shellac in both orange & semi-clear form. It's the best way to go for a neophyte french polisher, mixing a batch of flakes, straining it & adjusting toi the right dilution is an acquired skill that is easy if you have someone who is a seasoned user to show you, but a bit of a pita when you are fumbling your way in the dark (damhik!).

I recommend the U-beaut premix for any beginner, just make sure you start with a very dilute working solution (as recommended on the bottle!) and you should have little trouble as long as you don't try polishing on a hot, humid day (which kind of limits your polishing time in a place like Cairns!). The shelf-life of the undiluted mix is quite good, I've kept it far longer than recommended on the label & it's been ok, but I would not try using old stuff on your first outing. Once you know a little bit about f-p, you can tell almost immediately if your polish has 'gone off' - it sticks like hell on the rubber & won't dry properly. The only solution is to buy a fresh bottle!

Cheers,
Ian

My appologies Log Dog. I missed your question about polish for Cedar. As Ian has already said traditional French polish gives a real boost to figured cedar. Unfortunately durability of the finish can leave a lot to be desired, particularly on high wearing surfaces. My prefered method is to use an oil varnish mix with extra driers. I used to mix my own but these days defer to Casey True Oil as it stores better than my home brew.

I second Rn's assessment of shellac finishes; for beauty it's unexcelled imo, but durability is not it's long suit where water, alcohol, heat or general spills are likely, as I said in my post (I think). The various oil/varnish, dilute varnish, slosh-on/wipe off methods are capable of achieving a reasonable approximation to french polish if done carefully & are much more durable and certainly easier to apply.

Another strike against f-p is that it takes time to master, by which I mean really master. With a bit of perseverance you can soon enough develop a bit of competency & become ok at, but I was in a club 25 years ago where one old member was a retired old-time french-polisher. He brought a cedar bookcase to one of our shows and it was absolutely stunning. Hard to describe in mere words, but the perfect surface & the clarity of the wood just jumped out at you from 10 ft away. I know I could never achieve anything remotely as good, but it did show me where the bar is....

Cheers,

"Slosh on/wipe off." Oh the subtlety belies you.

Originally Posted by rustynail

I used to mix my own but these days defer to Casey True Oil as it stores better than my home brew.

It's funny how it goes. My own home brew (pale BLO, Gum turps, Oil based PolyU) sat undisturbed for more than two years in a plastic lidded plastic jar which was 50% air and was perfect. OTOH some Evolution Hardwax Oil (great product, btw, especially for hard wearing) was in a Stoploss bag with nil air for the same period and became "difficult" taking ages to dry (many days).

A few more pics
All are from root material
Some interesting grain amongst them
Log Dog

Originally Posted by rustynail

"Slosh on/wipe off." Oh the subtlety belies you.

Subtlety was never my forte, Rn., been accused of obfuscation a few times, but subtlety?

Anyway, isn't that a reasonably accurate description of the method

Ian