Natural weathering and finishing Question

[ohno]

Been a natural feature nut i always run into this problem.
How to preserve naturally weathered wood and create a nice blend between it and nicely polished areas.

Specifically the piece iam working on at the moment.
Its from an old seasoned regum fence post. The outside is a nice silvery weathered grey and i have carved in still leaving some of the outer surface.
The red interior i'll do some sort of finish on but dont want to put anything on the grey as everything i've trialled will darken the color..


Can anyone suggest something i could use or do to give these areas some measure of protection without discoloring? Or is this the cross that us "mr naturals" have to bear?
Just thinking, what about Matt finishes??????. never used em really...

/rant.

Ben

[RufflyRustic]

Hi Ben,

I too, wonder what what finish to put on the lovely weathered timber, but in the end, haven't come up with anything so have simply left it natural.

I suppose I should take my own advice and run a test, but nearly every bit of weathered timber, I end up using

cheers
Wendy

[Cliff Rogers]

It would be interesting to try spray lacquer in a mat finish.

[echnidna]

I've tryed lacquer but it detracts.

Might try some water based poly, it might do thge job

[ohno]

Sniff. Iam not alone

[flynnsart]

You could give Crystal Cote matt a try on it. It is used to spray on your artwork, like charcoal drawings to seal them, you cant see it when it is on, but stops them smudging ect. A thinned down bondcrete solution could be alright too.

Donna

[Toymaker Len]

Anything which wets the weathered surface will darken it so really the best thing is to just leave it natural. After all it has survived some dozens or so of years out in all weathers and now its probably going to be nice and safe inside a building. It doesn't need protecting. Just my two cents worth.