Finish for driftwood sidetable

[Twist]

Howdy

I'm in the process of making two side tables, they will have clear glass on top. At the moment I'm thinking Tung oil on top to bring out the natural reds. For the rest I'm looking for some kind of spray so it goes into the all the nooks and grannies, I want something that will bring out the natural colour but not change it, also low sheen, I don't want a plastic look. Any suggestions?

Also, I'm probably asking too much now but is there anything I can do to the wood to stop it cracking, I've had it drying for about a month but over the last week cracks are starting to appear.

Thanks
Twist
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[Christos]

Normally the ends would need some sort of sealer to prevent or limit the amount of cracking. As you are using this as is I don't think you have much options other than to allow them to dry and crack. I guess once the moisture in the wood has stabilize you might want to use epoxy on some of the cracks. I would suggest using a brand Techniglue where both the epoxy and hardener are thick cream like viscosity.

If you are going to use Tung oil for the top then why not for the whole piece, you can apply in the hollows with a small painters brush. I have done this when applying a danish oil finish on a piece that had holes in it. Also note that if it is pure tung oil then it will take a long time to dry.

[Twist]

The Tung Oil tends to make the white of the driftwood go grey.

Does Danish Oil not do this?

If I put a sealer on the ends to reduce the cracking will the Tung oil still penetrate through the sealer to the wood? I don't have to use Tung oil it's just what I've used before and have some in the shed, but happy to buy Danish Oil if it will give a better result.

[Xanthorrhoeas]

If I put a sealer on the ends to reduce the cracking will the Tung oil still penetrate through the sealer to the wood?

No is the simple answer. Most sealers are PVA, wax or even paint based.

I have no experience with Tung Oil but Danish Oil (Rustins is the best brand I have used) does definitely darken timber - that may be a disadvantage to you. One advantage of the oil is that if you slop a lot of Danish oil on it may slow down drying and reduce cracking.

With timber it is best to take your time. if you seal the ends early, yes drying will be slow, but the end result can be what you want. Now that cracks have started to appear even applying an endgrain sealer will be problematic as it will soak into the cracks and can cause problems finishing later. My experience is that once wood starts to crack it continues to do so no matter what.

I haven't used Techniglue but another good gap-filling epoxy I have used is Epox-E-Glue and it is easy to colour to match (sort of depending on your skill, I usually go darker) your timber using either dry powder colours or spirit based wood stains.