Camphor Laurel Finish

[SuperB15]

I am to collect a slab of Camphor Laurel on the weekend and have a few question on finishes. It will be a computer desk.

Only worked on Vic Ash in 2 previous projects and used a Dark Oak stain with 3 hand brushed coats of Cabots Carbothane. I was quite happy with finish. I got fairly smooth - over the years it seemed to get into grain more and you can feel a very faint gain but still smooth enought for me.

3 Questions

1) What to fill those few natural recesses with along with maybe a small natural crack which I don't think I will cut off?
2) One recess/hole is quite black and appears to have an almost bark like lining to it. Should I work this out with and sand or just fill?
3) Finsh I would like is as close to natural as finishes will allow. Was originally thinking of using spray pack of Carbothane to get and keep very smooth, but after reading another post I am not sure anymore. I really don't want it to go too dark and I would like the finish to be hard as it will be well used. Will a sanding sealer send it too dark to start with?

Cheers

SB

[wheelinround]

A photo of the slab would be nice

1 Filling the crack almost anything using a resin, shavings, brass shavings, tint resin with a back or gold colour.

2 if the bark is loose remove it a quick clean up and fill as above

3 Camphor is an oily timber a good hard finish have a read of this thread using Mirrortone
other finishes Danish Oil which will allow the natural oils to help with hardening

Thats going to be one nice smelling desk top

[IanW]

Hi SB - I've had pretty good results on Camphor with a mix of equal parts turps, "scandinavian" type oil & polyurethane. It makes a very liquid mix that you slosh on with a rag & wipe off before it gets sticky. The number of coats depends on how much "build" you want, but 3 to 4 should be lots for a desk. The poly adds more resins to the mix than straight Danish oil, and is more water resistant (for when you knock your coffee over, or put the stubby down without a mat).

The Camphor bookcase & blanket box below were both finished with about 3 coats of this brew. After it hardens off (a week or two), a good rub down with steel wool & a good paste wax (Ubeaut is perfect - gotta give our sponsors a plug!) & you get a lovely soft sheen that looks way better than you'd expect from such an easy process. The bookcase is at least 12 years old, & there has been little colour change since it was done (it is out of direct light). Camphor is a reasonably tough wood for its density, & should make a durable desk top.

Cheers,

[SuperB15]

Will do some pictures after I pick up on Saturday.

Quote
"1 Filling the crack almost anything using a resin, shavings, brass shavings, tint resin with a back or gold colour."

Any product names?

The smell I would have yhought would be severly diminished with the coating?

Also assume oil in timber does not effect gluing,

Cheers

[IanW]

The smell I would have yhought would be severly diminished with the coating?

Indeed it will. You may well find it a bit OTT in a small room, otherwise. Actually, the odour will diminish fairly soon if the wood is totally exposed, but persists a lot longer inside drawers or cupboards. The bookcase I showed has no camphor odour about it externally, but you still get a good solid whack of it on opening the doors. I have used it for drawer bottoms & the drawers still retain the odour pretty strongly after 20 plus years. It does fade eventually - a very old blanket box belonging to LOML which must be 70 plus years old had no odour when I first examined it. It is a very even deep brown colour, & I wasn't quite sure what it was, at first, but a bit of a rub inside with coarse sandpaper & up came the characteristic whiff.

Also assume oil in timber does not effect gluing,

One should never say never, but I have stuck a lot of it together, and had no problems I couldn't attribute to my own incompetence. Can't say any of it that I have worked is really "oily" in the way Tallow wood is, for example. I've used PVA, Hide, Epoxy, & melamine glues with no apparent problems.

Cheers,

[SuperB15]

The following may be a very basic question however I'm still at loss for product.

To fill the natural holes/cracks people talk about epoxy and sometimes 2 pack.

I looked at UBeaut but could not see anything. Also most likely don't need a lot.
Is anyone able to throw me some names?

Cheers

and thanks

SB

[SuperB15]

Collected slab this morning, see pics cose ups are of areas to fill.

I now know a bit - not a lot- more about epoxy. Picked up some West System 105 and hardener. I hope that this will work out ok to fill the few areas and 1 crack on one end.

Still not drcided to use for finish but maybe leaning to finish as described by IanW. Or just go back to a cabot spray or hand bruch.

Also picked up some UBeaut Sanding Sealer. I hope that this will provide a very flat finsh as this will be a computer desk. Also hope it does not change the colour too much.

Cheers

SB

[chooky72]

Hi Super B15! I was wondering how you got on with the camphor laurel, as I have the exact same questions/problems? What did you end up using? Was it any good?

[SuperB15]

Chooky

Still working on but process to date

Filled sap holes with west systems without filler/dye as I wanted clear look for holes. Was bit disappointed with this (although 1st time user of epoxy) with the difficult nature of getting air bubbles out of the epoxy. After sanding I found a number of very tinny holes - airbubbles cut in half. I have see worse example and is not bad just not as I wanted.

I have covered with couple of layers of Cabots Carbothane but still tiny holes not filling enough. I am about to fill with some ebony and or mahogany woodfiller so I get flat finish all over and then cover with another layer of clear.

I intend to test E-Shine and then a couple of layers of wax, Will try on underneath 1st to see if I like the look. Just need to know how E-Shine is used i.e. if you let dry prior to working with rag or if it is worked still in waxy form.

I am happy so far with the clear finish over the top as it has shown the grain nicely. If I don't like the wax finish I will leave with the clear.

Have included a pic but it still does not do justice as is not natural light.

Cheers


SB

[horc00]

Hello everyone.

Firstly, I apologise for reviving an 8-years old thread. Secondly, I am not a woodworker nor do I have any experience making any wooden items.

The thing is, I recently purchased a beautiful camphor wood coffee table for my living room. It came unfinished (I'm not sure if that's the right word but the seller basically said that they did not apply any form of finishing onto it) and I was instantly attracted to the "natural" look and camphor fragrance. It is now proudly displayed in the middle of my living room and guests have nothing but compliments for it.

However, I noticed that it seems to absorb any water spillage quite rapidly unlike most other wooden furniture I have. I am especially concerned of spilling any coffee or oily stuff onto the table, to the point that I'm afraid to even place glasses with chilled water onto the table (because condensation...).

I tried googling for information on the types of finishing I can use for camphor, and while I have found a few suggestions in here and on another forum, so far none have specifically mentioned that the finishing will still allow the wood to emit its fragrance.

Hence I would like to ask what finishing would be recommended if I would really like it to maintain its "natural" look and fragrance.

Thanks!

[IanW]

Hence I would like to ask what finishing would be recommended if I would really like it to maintain its "natural" look and fragrance....

Hmm, I'm sure you've heard the old homily about having a cake & eating it!

The chemicals that produce the odour are volatile, and gradually evaporate so that the smell will fade away over time whatever you do or don't do, and the more exposed & unfinished the wood, the quicker that will happen. How long is a guess, because different trees seem to have different amounts of the volatile chemicals, so it's very variable. I like to use Camphor for drawer-bottoms, & in that situation, the smell persists for many years, but still fades over time. Pieces left on a shelf or in an open wood stack lose most of their smell over a few months, until you plane or cut them again.

Much as you may like your raw table, you are begging for it to become soiled & stained if you don't put something on it to give it a bit of protection. An inescapable fact of life is that tables will get spills on them, so you either take steps to protect it, or cover it with a plastic sheet & don't use it! What is best to use is a matter of taste as well as technical requirements. Virtually no finish practical for the average DIYer to handle hermetically seals wood, so even 'good' finishes can be penetrated if you are persistent or careless enough.

People who like 'natural' often go for some sort of oil finish. All finishes will yellow a bit over time, but Tung oil is reputed to be the one that does this least. You won't always be able to tell what oil is in it if you buy a proprietary "Danish" oil, but some admit to what's in it on the tin, and it;s usually Linseed, which is one of the more 'yellowing' oils. Danish-type oils give a very pleasing finish on Camphor, but they give very little 'spill' protection. Condensation rings will certainly leave permanent marks unless wiped off pretty smartly. I like to use a finish like that on something like a bookcase or a blanket chest, but not on a table Bkse camphor r.jpg Blanket chest r.jpg

You can get a very similar-looking finish that is 'in' rather than 'on' the wood by diluting a satin varnish by 50-60% with turps. Slosh it on, let it soak a bit, then wipe off any excess with a clean rag before it gets sticky (which it will do very quickly, so you need to work reasonably fast). Let that dry, then repeat at least once, better still two or three more times, using even more dilute varnish/turps so it doesn't 'build' too much. This finish is very 'flat', very tactile, & will be a lot more water-resistant than Danish oil. But all varnishes yellow over time, so you either accept that, or put up with a pretty ragged-looking table top after a year or two.......

My 2c,

[horc00]

Hmm, I'm sure you've heard the old homily about having a cake & eating it!

The chemicals that produce the odour are volatile, and gradually evaporate so that the smell will fade away over time whatever you do or don't do, and the more exposed & unfinished the wood, the quicker that will happen. How long is a guess, because different trees seem to have different amounts of the volatile chemicals, so it's very variable. I like to use Camphor for drawer-bottoms, & in that situation, the smell persists for many years, but still fades over time. Pieces left on a shelf or in an open wood stack lose most of their smell over a few months, until you plane or cut them again.

Much as you may like your raw table, you are begging for it to become soiled & stained if you don't put something on it to give it a bit of protection. An inescapable fact of life is that tables will get spills on them, so you either take steps to protect it, or cover it with a plastic sheet & don't use it! What is best to use is a matter of taste as well as technical requirements. Virtually no finish practical for the average DIYer to handle hermetically seals wood, so even 'good' finishes can be penetrated if you are persistent or careless enough.

People who like 'natural' often go for some sort of oil finish. All finishes will yellow a bit over time, but Tung oil is reputed to be the one that does this least. You won't always be able to tell what oil is in it if you buy a proprietary "Danish" oil, but some admit to what's in it on the tin, and it;s usually Linseed, which is one of the more 'yellowing' oils. Danish-type oils give a very pleasing finish on Camphor, but they give very little 'spill' protection. Condensation rings will certainly leave permanent marks unless wiped off pretty smartly. I like to use a finish like that on something like a bookcase or a blanket chest, but not on a table Bkse camphor r.jpg Blanket chest r.jpg

You can get a very similar-looking finish that is 'in' rather than 'on' the wood by diluting a satin varnish by 50-60% with turps. Slosh it on, let it soak a bit, then wipe off any excess with a clean rag before it gets sticky (which it will do very quickly, so you need to work reasonably fast). Let that dry, then repeat at least once, better still two or three more times, using even more dilute varnish/turps so it doesn't 'build' too much. This finish is very 'flat', very tactile, & will be a lot more water-resistant than Danish oil. But all varnishes yellow over time, so you either accept that, or put up with a pretty ragged-looking table top after a year or two.......

My 2c,

Thank you for the suggestions. I will definitely look into them.


I contacted the seller regarding a finishing and he recommended me Harrell's traditional wax polish. I would like to point out that the seller is a Chinese based in China, so I'm concerned that our communication might be lost in translation.


Considering that I have accepted my fate that any finish will cover up the fragrance, what do you think about Harrell's or any wax polish in general? Will it retain the natural wood look and feel? How does it compare to the finishes you recommended.

I do not have a picture of my table uploaded, but it looks something like this, but perhaps even more "raw" and unfinished looking.

[Alkahestic]

Waxes won't really provide much spill or stain protection and they will need to be reapplied every few months or more frequently if the table sees a lot of use. They will leave the surface feeling very nice, very smooth to the touch. If you use a neutral colored wax, it won't substantially change the look of the wood, it may just be a little darker than raw.

I haven't used it yet but apparently Osmo Polyx Raw doesn't substantially change the look of raw timber while still providing some protection against staining and spills. It does need to be reapplied every so often but application seems pretty painless. Apparently it doesn't yellow as much as other solvent based finishes over time either. Link to some discussion about Polyx - https://www.woodworkforums.com/f9/osm...essions-216689 I'll probably order a tin soon and give it a test run.

I like white shellac followed by wax for a finish that doesn't change the wood color too much, but it provides less resistance to staining than varnishes and ployurethanes. I don't drink so it's not an issue for me but alcohol is the solvent for shellac, so alcoholic drink spills will damage the shellac very quickly, with the only consolation being that repair is not terribly difficult.