refinishing cedar chest,,pic added after oiled

sharpshooter039

I know we have some wood guys in here,,I bought a very large ,old Murphy #20 cedar chest, these are the ones girls used as a hope chest, its 4' long, 2' wide and 20 inches deep, It was a mess,,partly painted and about 10 coats of cracked varnish of some sort, Anyway I have it cleaned up and back to the wood,,It has a pretty natural color so I dont wish to stain,,would several coats of tru-oil gunstock refinish work on this,,I am not sure since its going over cedar,,

evileye fleagal

i like 3 pound orange on old wood, just sand in between coats.

thats the old name of the product

Junkballer

Cedar is supposed to smell to repel insects and give off the cedar fragrance in a room, want refinishing seal in the natural smell [?] I was taught to lightly sand a chest every 5 yrs or so to rejuvinate the cedar juices in the wood.

sharpshooter039

most are finished some sort on the outside but not on the inside where things are stored, this chest looked like paint and varnish had been applied with a putty knife it was so thick but you could still smell it when you got up close. My worry is cedar is a soft wood and just not sure if it will take the finish I want to use,,I have a couple bottles of it already,,I may just pick a little spot and try it.

CaptFun

quote:Originally posted by evileye fleagal
i like 3 pound orange on old wood, just sand in between coats.

thats the old name of the product


3 pound Orange means that the product has 3 pounds of Orange graded shellac per gallon of solvent (usually an alcohol) Shellac comes in several colors from platina to garnet. Orange is one shade darker than halfway. Waxed or Unwaxed shellac can make a difference on the longevity of the finish. Aromatic cedar is a * to finish because of all the oils in the wood.

Wax or Tung oil works well with cedar. (If you go with shellac, start with a very light color for the first coat and then alternate dark light. Google "clear, color clear shellac" to get some tips. )

Rubbing out a shellac finish with pumice and rottenstone can produce some outstanding results.

nmyers

Cedar oil on the inside:

http://www.amazon.com/Giles-Kendall-Cedar-Restores-Original/dp/B002RXHME0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427458450&sr=8-1&keywords=cedar+oil

It repels moths, the original reason it was used for storage of clothing.

Neal

woodshed87

Gosh Capt Your So Smart
Why do you play With Gunzzzzzzz
Great Info [^][^]quote:Originally posted by CaptFun
quote:Originally posted by evileye fleagal
i like 3 pound orange on old wood, just sand in between coats.

thats the old name of the product


3 pound Orange means that the product has 3 pounds of Orange graded shellac per gallon of solvent (usually an alcohol) Shellac comes in several colors from platina to garnet. Orange is one shade darker than halfway. Waxed or Unwaxed shellac can make a difference on the longevity of the finish. Aromatic cedar is a * to finish because of all the oils in the wood.

Wax or Tung oil works well with cedar. (If you go with shellac, start with a very light color for the first coat and then alternate dark light. Google "clear, color clear shellac" to get some tips. )

Rubbing out a shellac finish with pumice and rottenstone can produce some outstanding results.

LesWVa

I would never use tru-oil gunstock refinish on Ceder. It forms a hard layer that does not allow wood to breath.

Danish oil, Tung or Linseed oil is about it if I wanted to use any type of finish.

varian

I refinished. A cedar robe about 15 years ago uusing shelac hardest to put on finish ive ever done. Apply a coat, let dry hand rub until it shines, do again and again,and again. Until u have it the way u want it. Prettiest finish on cedar I've ever seen

fideau

I wouldn't use TruOil, which is partly based on Tung Oil anyway.
Tung Oil would be my choice. Oil based Poly the quickest and easiest for me.
Don't finish the inside, just sand it and that will renew the Cedar smell.

toad67

Flip it over and try whatever you're going to use on the bottom first.

sharpshooter039

I wish I would have taken a picture before I started just to show the different paints and cracked varnish,,stopped at an old guy down the road that does cedar furniture,,he gave me a small bottle of pure cedar oil and told me to apply a coat every day for 15-20 days,,it only takes a few drops on a cotton ball to coat the entire box , after 1st coat

PacMan

Nice work! What's it look like inside?

wiz1997

Very nice.

The style looks very similar to my Grandmother's cedar chest, which we estimate to be over 100 years old.

Are there any maker's marks on the interior?

Did you know that the original reason for the chest to be made of cedar was to keep the bugs away? Moths will not venture near the smell of cedar.

Again, very nice job.

sharpshooter039

Its clean and looks brand new on the inside,even still has the original tray,I hit it with a wire brush just to freshin it up and bring the cedar smell back strong,,I gave $60 for a group of old estate furniture and this was one of the pieces in it,,I think if I decide to sell it I can at least double my money on just this one piece,
Wiz,,its marked Murphy #20,,

CaptFun

My girls will be of marrying age in the not to distant future. I have been looking at plans for chests but probably need to start getting the wood in house and curing....