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Best Finish for redwood?

F

flyrod444

Joined
Nov 28, 2006
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Location
N.C.
I received some very curly redwood as a prize this fall and would appreciate any info on what finishes work well on it and what to avoid. Being that I turn wood that I find locally in Western NC I have no experience with Redwood. I've included a pic of one of the roughed out HF's to show the wonderful grain in these blanks.
Thanks,
Jack Mincey
 

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I wouldn't recommend an oil finish without trying it first!

Hello Jack!

Happy New Year!

What an exceptional piece of wood!! (....the hollow form ain't bad either! ;) )

My experience of with redwood is limited to a few bowls and one HF turned from a very old piece of redwood log section (...with about 160 growth rings!) that was about 20" in diameter and 4' high that had been sitting around in one of our Biology teaching labs for who knows how long. It had to go, and I volunteered to take the log and do something with it.

I can recommend that you do NOT use any oil finish without trying it on a sample/scrap first - for me, it darkened the wood far too much (I used Watco "natural"; it probably would have been even worse with boiled linseed oil, and maybe even tung oil). The oil changed the wood from its vibrant red color when turned and sanded, to a dark, reddish muddy brown. In your case, it seems this piece of wood has so much more figure than the redwood I've used that an oil may help the figure to "pop" even more than you've shown us, but I would experiment on a scrap piece first before potentially ruining a stunning piece. It may not need much more than a nice clear finish.

Light colored shellac and/or a clear lacquer finish might preserve and accentuate the excellent figure and color contrasts in this piece without flattening them out.

Please let us know what you decide to use and what your finishing recommendations are.

Rob Wallace
 
I've used linseed oil on this California redwood burl. The wood did get darker but not too much.
BTW In any case before applying finish I recommend you to put some "Zinsser SealCoat" sanding sealer on your bowl and sand some more. Redwood is somewhat prone to tear out.

If you had a chance to compare two redwood bowls one with some sealant treatment and one without you would definitely see a big difference.

Original color of the piece:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_gzA6aeqk3VE/TI-YmgpJUvI/AAAAAAAABx0/fX1ujuMdxWE/s640/P1010933.JPG


http://lh5.ggpht.com/_gzA6aeqk3VE/TI-Yz9SqUmI/AAAAAAAABx0/6aZ8otT4jpQ/s912/P1010942.JPG
 
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