Mackay Cedar Finishing

[Daniel.junge]

Hi all.

I recently acquired a lovely board of Mackay Cedar with some great flame through the centre grain. It's about 3mtrs x 600 with the cream edging.

I know all about the problems coming my way when working/sanding Mackay Cedar, but don't have much experience with finishes for this timber at all.

I'd love to hear of any suggestions people have for finishing it though. I'm after a satin finish but really want to bring out the flame, while darkening out the pink/red. I'm aiming for a feature piece for a wall.

Thanks for any advice you have!

[Tahlee]

I'd like to hear the wisdom of members on this one too

Rob

[Enfield Guy]

I think your choices are Organoil burnished into the slab, or Osmo. Search burnished finish within this forum and you should find some good info..

Cheers

[Xanthorrhoeas]

Has anyone tried shellac with it? That is my favourite finish as I choose the gloss level by the number of coats.

I have a forthcoming project to build a bed head for my daughter in Mackay Cedar and am planning on using shellac (Hard Shellac) so would love to hear of problems -- or -- preferably success. I made her a bed head out of Australian cedar and fully polished it but "it is too wide" " can I have a narrower one please." Yes, of course my darling, what do you want, I answer! Always a sucker for a daughter.

[Daniel.junge]

Thanks guys. Great ideas. Please keep it coming!
Re. Burnishing: what sort of a wax have people tried afterwards? Eg. Soft paste, hard etc?
I've played with shellac before but with such a large flat area, can be tricky to get that nice, even finish it can produce on the smaller pieces!
Thanks !

[Xanthorrhoeas]

Hi Daniel,

Getting a good even finish with shellac on larger surfaces is not as difficult as you might think. The secret is to use a decent sized 'rubber', that is a pad made from lint-free cloth (like old sheet) and an absorbent filler (like cotton wool). Make sure that the shellac is well-diluted and that the rubber is fairly dry so that you do not get lines/puddles/excess shellac in it.

As an example, this photo shows an 1800 long cedar board that I recently polished with Hard Shellac (which I find fussier than normal shellac). The photo is taken from an oblique angle to avoid reflections, so it does look a bit odd - but it is the finish I am trying to show.

Cedar table top Hard Shellac.jpg

[Daniel.junge]

That's a great looking finish! How many coats would you normally apply to a board like that? The grain has really popped. Would you back it up with any wax afterwards?

[Xanthorrhoeas]

That's a great looking finish! How many coats would you normally apply to a board like that? The grain has really popped. Would you back it up with any wax afterwards?

Sorry for the delayed response, I haven't been following up the thread closely.

It is difficult to estimate the number of coats as I do not count. It is important to use well-thinned shellac and to allow time for the shellac to dry completely before you rub back and apply more coats. I would probably apply between five to eight coats each day - as long as it warm enough to become touch dry between coats. Then I leave it overnight (or for a week if it is Sunday) before rubbing back with 1000 grit wet and dry. My guess is that this board has between 50 and 80 very thin coats on it. If you could look at it up close you would see that the grain pores are still visible because I do not use any grain fillers. As you can see, that is enough coats to show the beauty of the timber without making it look like a piano lacquer high gloss finish.

Yes, I always finish with a good high-Carnauba wax content furniture wax afterwards. For cedar I use a black wax, for Huon or other pines I use a blonde wax.

[Wigwood]

G'day, I have a lovely crotch wood slab of Mackey Cedar coffee table that I finish with a product that I have used on many projects in my house that are used daily.... I first give a few coasts of your favourite oil and then finish with Feast Watson Floorseal oil (sometimes I just use it without the oil step).....yep I know, but if you can walk on it, then I know my family can't hurt it for day to day use. Two tricks here, make sure that the oil is truely "off" before coating with Floorseal oil and secondly, after the Floorseal oil has sat for a while, finish the finish. I know, but give it a try first! I have used this on my Karri bed, spotted gum/jarrah chairs, Black butt tables etc...... I do use wipe on poly at times, but for hard wearing surfaces, go the Floorseal oil........

[Nanigai]

Hi Daniel,
There is another option no one has mentioned yet.
A few coats of dewaxed shellac will pop the figure in your board and then you can put any finish you like over it.
Oil, or any finish will go over dewaxed shellac without problems and look great but my (lazy) favourite is oil over dewaxed shellac.
If you sand the surface to a high level first it will show through in the final result I am sure you would be very happy with.

Post us a photo when you're done.
Cheers, Ian

[AlexS]

Just noticed this thread, sorry for the late reply.
I used shellac as a sanding sealer, followed by Livos Kunos oil. My process is as follows:
Sand the piece to 800 grit, and clean it with methylated spirits on a paper towel or rag.
Give it a coat of shellac and allow to stand for a couple of hours. The shellac will raise any loose fibres and harden. You can use either brown or white shellac, but brown will slightly discolour the lighter timber.
Lightly sand again to 800.
Put on a flood coat of 50/50 Kunos oil and Bio thinners and after about 10 minutes wipe off any excess oil. After another 5-10 minutes buff the surface with a soft cloth, eg T-shirt material, and leave overnight.
Rub in a generous (but not a flood) coat and when it starts to feel tacky - 10-20 minutes usually, depending on temperature & humidity - buff it. Again, leave overnight.
Rub in a 3rd coat using 000 steel wool, and wipe the excess off immediately. When tacky, buff it.
From here on, you can rub in as many light coats as you like, buffing each time and leaving overnight. The more coats you apply, the glossier the finish.

[Dengue]

I am a bit confused after reading both AlexS and Nanigai's posts. I thought the oil was supposed to seep into the pores of the timber to give that deep lustrous look. How does it get through a barrier of shellac?

[Xanthorrhoeas]

I am a bit confused after reading both AlexS and Nanigai's posts. I thought the oil was supposed to seep into the pores of the timber to give that deep lustrous look. How does it get through a barrier of shellac?

Yes, I am also puzzled by the idea. It seems topsy-turvy. When I use oil I use it on bare timber. I am guessing the oil must have a resin added or something else to make it cross-link and set despite not being absorbed by the timber as with Danish Oil.

[Xanthorrhoeas]

Completely by chance I was having a working lunch last week (which I do not usually do but someone invited me) and one of the other diners told me his family had owned a sawmill in central coastal Qld and used to cut a lot of Mackay Cedar. He told me that the shop fitters for Hogs Breath (ghastly name!) bought a lot of that timber from them and that all the tables in those restaurant/bars are made from it. Perhaps you can find out how they finished them - and go and check one out to see if it looks good to you.