Finish for burnt timber

[Maxwell619]

Hi All.
I have recently had my property burnt with the bushfires. We are now going through the recovery and cleanup.
to “commemorate” the occasion I have salvaged some hardwood timber from a wooden bridge on the property that was partially burnt out and a Tallowwood live edge slab that burnt as well and made it into a small but very heavy duty rustic outdoor table.

my question is what sort of finish to apply to it, in particular the charcoal bits so that peopl wonÂ’t come away black whenever they take hold of it.

any ideas?
the table willl live under a covered carport.

Thanks Mike

[China]

If it is outside I would use a marine varnish.

[markharrison]

I've never tried this myself. Have you heard of Shou Sugi Ban? This is a Japanese technique for charring the surface of timber to make it resistant to water.

As I understand it (which really is not very well) a "natural oil" is used to then seal the charred surface. I'm guessing, but I imagine they are talking about Tung Oil.

Anyway, that might give you some other search ideas.

I would probably avoid a film finish unless you are 100% certain it will never get UV exposure.

[Claw Hama]

Marks on it. I think they rub/brush most of the charcoal off or back to a point where it's not too soft or going to fall away and then oil it
as Mark said. I think there are some pretty good youtube vids on this process. Good luck.

[old1955]

Welcome to the forum Mike.

[Maxwell619]

Thanks for the replies
Shou Sugi Ban was the clue. Led me to a few search results that pointed to wipe on poly as a possibility and as I had done on the shelf IÂ’ve used that and is come up a treat I think.
mike