Need advise on sealing old growth redwood

[martyjo40]

I am a wood novice who moved to the Redwood Forest in CA about a year ago. I soon found out that there is very little work available here. So my neighbor and I who together have a sizeable amount of acreage have been walking through the forest finding unusual pieces of wood on the forest floor and creeks. I then clean it, remove any rot, sand it and then post if for sale on Etsy. To my surprise we are doing pretty good and I need to know how to finish or seal these pieces so that they retain the beautiful colors they are after I get done sanding them. Most is old growth redwood.
I believe tung oil is one way but that's all I know. Can some generous soul provide me more info on my options? Please and thank you.

 

[Mike1950]

Oil based will darken redwood. Sometimes a lot. Water based will keep color truer. My opinion only

 

[JD1137]

I agree with Mike.
I don’t use it, but a lot of folks mention water based poly. Might be a good option if you’re okay with a film (not oil) finish.

 

[trc65]

No experience at all with redwood, finish will depend on the look you want. If you want to stay away from darkening the wood too much (with oil), I'd give shellac a try, as well as lacquer. Both will darken the wood some, but I'd guess not as much as oil (based on other woods). Worth doing a little experimenting with a couple different finishes to get the look you are after.

Easy enough to get a spray can of lacquer and some water based acrylic to experiment. Unfortunately, even though you can buy spray cans of shellac, the nozzle on the cans are absolute crap and won't lay down a nice layer.

 

[Arn213]

Redwood the actual lumber is porous and it is like a sponge when you apply a finish. You have better results using a sanding sealer first before the finish coat. I am not sure if the redwood root have or less porosity. I used a mixture of denatured alcohol with shellac as it flows better. It will not change the wood color tone and actually will preserve it because of the alcohol mixture. Shellac though does not provide a good finish protection though as it is a softer finish- more flexible. But the upside is that you can fix a portion of say a scraped area and the new coat will blend with the old one.

 

[martyjo40]

Thank you for your advise. I am going tonso exactly that experiment some with it. I do know I do not want to change the color of the wood at all if possible. I also do not want it to look super shiny or plastic like. I am aiming for keeping it as close as possible to what it looks like when I finish sanding it. Rich tones throughout absolutely beautiful.

 

[martyjo40]

I agree with Mike.
I don’t use it, but a lot of folks mention water based poly. Might be a good option if you’re okay with a film (not oil) finish.

Yes I do not want to change the color of the wood at all if possible. I also do not want it looking shiny like it's been dipped in plastic. Just trying to retain that natural beauty of freshly sanded old growth redwood. So I am going to take everyone advise and experiment some. Thank you for your help!!

 

[martyjo40]

Redwood the actual lumber is porous and it is like a sponge when you apply a finish. You have better results using a sanding sealer first before the finish coat. I am not sure if the redwood root have or less porosity. I used a mixture of denatured alcohol with shellac as it flows better. It will not change the wood color tone and actually will preserve it because of the alcohol mixture. Shellac though does not provide a good finish protection though as it is a softer finish- more flexible. But the upside is that you can fix a portion of say a scraped area and the new coat will blend with the old one.

So does shellac come in a flat non shiny option? And sanding sealer is just to to close the pours on the wood so that the shellac has a smooth surface to adhere to correct? It has been 30 years since I have refinished anyyhing..and is shellac water based? I am going to try your way first because I don't want to mute the natural wood colors if possible. Thank you for your advise

 

[martyjo40]

No experience at all with redwood, finish will depend on the look you want. If you want to stay away from darkening the wood too much (with oil), I'd give shellac a try, as well as lacquer. Both will darken the wood some, but I'd guess not as much as oil (based on other woods). Worth doing a little experimenting with a couple different finishes to get the look you are after.

Easy enough to get a spray can of lacquer and some water based acrylic to experiment. Unfortunately, even though you can buy spray cans of shellac, the nozzle on the cans are absolute crap and won't lay down a nice layer.

I am going to experiment with all the a ideas and suggestions everyone has generously provided me. I do know that the wood from a old growth tree trunk is vastly different from root wood. Even different sections of the root can be vastly different depending on how old it is, if its been buried above ground or in water constantly. I look for the root wood in water, such as a running creek because that wood is almost petrified and strikingly beautiful and smooth from years of water running over it. I have all type of tefwood sections currently so j am going to see what works best. Thank you and everyone for the help

 

[martyjo40]

I agree with Mike.
I don’t use it, but a lot of folks mention water based poly. Might be a good option if you’re okay with a film (not oil) finish.

Thank up I

 

[Arn213]

So does shellac come in a flat non shiny option? And sanding sealer is just to to close the pours on the wood so that the shellac has a smooth surface to adhere to correct? It has been 30 years since I have refinished anyyhing..and is shellac water based? I am going to try your way first because I don't want to mute the natural wood colors if possible. Thank you for your advise

Correct on the sanding sealer. You can increase the luster by using the least amount of alcohol and you can increase the luster by using a buffing compound. These are all types of figure redwood that I have used shellac/denatured alcohol mix.

 

[martyjo40]

Those are beautiful. It seems it darkens it some but very minimal. I sure appreciate that info. I am going to the store tomorrow and start trying what you have said to do. Thank you

 

[Arn213]

Those are beautiful. It seems it darkens it some but very minimal. I sure appreciate that info. I am going to the store tomorrow and start trying what you have said to do. Thank you

It doesn’t darken it and the film finish enhances the color, grain and figure if present- just like if you were to pour or spray water on the wood surface. When the wood is in raw form, there is no way to get that rawness existing color tone. The closest you will get to that is if you get it to a matte luster with no shine at all- it will be lack luster because of the absent of the high shine or mirror finish. I use this mix because it is forgiving and you can take it off by using denatured alcohol with a rag.

Arn
PS- you can use a polyurethane film finish- that comes in matte, satin, semi-gloss & high gloss. It is a thicker protective finish. Like what some members mentioned that it will keep the existing color pure and retain it over time. Down side is if you put a dent or ding on it, you will have this white cloud in that particular section- it would be very visible and noticeable. One of the fix is to use cyano by building it up. There is a wipe on version if you are use to that method instead of brush or sprayer (satin or gloss finish).

 

[martyjo40]

Are those blocks in thr pics you posted from the trunk of a tree. I thought it made it darker because the old growth redwood trunk wood i have been seeing is a rose gold color, a fee shades lighter than the pics. It's why I thought it darkened a little. I am a newbie. So I am excited to try this. I will let you know how it turns out for me. Thank you again!!!!

 

[Mike1950]

The big redwood burls are usually root burls.
Arn's colors for burl and curl are right on for redwood.

 

[Mr. Peet]

Redwood the actual lumber is porous and it is like a sponge when you apply a finish. You have better results using a sanding sealer first before the finish coat. I am not sure if the redwood root have or less porosity. I used a mixture of denatured alcohol with shellac as it flows better. It will not change the wood color tone and actually will preserve it because of the alcohol mixture. Shellac though does not provide a good finish protection though as it is a softer finish- more flexible. But the upside is that you can fix a portion of say a scraped area and the new coat will blend with the old one.

Assume the root has more porosity based on my little experience with it. All the root woods I have worked, they have all had more porosity than stem stock (as far as I recall at the moment).

 

[Arn213]

Assume the root has more porosity based on my little experience with it. All the root woods I have worked, they have all had more porosity than stem stock (as far as I recall at the moment).

@Mike1950 answered my question and I can’t really measure porosity between the burl root and in lumber form. My observation is they suck up a lot of finish on the first pass and they absorb it like a sponge. The sanding sealer will level it out and you will need multiple finish coats to get it smooth and level, then you buff with a bumping compound if you want it smooth.

 

[Mike1950]

Roots are usually more porous then lumber

 

[Greenacres2]

Roots are usually more porous then lumber

That would make sense--it's their job to provide moisture to the plant.

 

[Mike1950]

Walnut root wood can be stunning. Lots of depth and color. But is is like a sponge.