Expert: Jamie Yocono - 4/14/2009

Question
Hi, we are building our granddaughter a cedar lined blanket chest using red oak.  We at first thought we would use a Danish Oil to bring out the natural beauty of the wood, but after reading about adding more coats each year decided that would not be a good thing.
We are now thinking polyurathene might be the best choice??  We have also heard that you can not finish the inside of anything made of cedar, if that is true how do we finish the inside.
Thanks for any help you can give.

Answer
Hi Keith,

I'm not sure what you read about Danish Oil, and about adding coats each year, but I'm here to tell you that oil is an excellent choice, combined with a cedar oil on the inside, to condition your cedar lining.

Danish oil is a penetrating finish, while polyurethane is a surface finish. Penetrating finishes absorb into the wood, and let the wood still feel like wood. Oil also brings out lovely colors in the wood, too. Polyurethane sits on top of the wood, and while it provides better protection, it makes your wood feel more like plastic than wood. But it does provide better protection than oil. So if you were asking about poly vs. oil on a table, I would probably recommend that poly works best. On a cedar chest? I say - oil.

For maintenance on oil finishes, I just apply a coat of oil maybe once a year. Wipe it on, and wipe it all off. Don't leave any oil residue, or it will get sticky. But once-a-year oil really rejuvenates the wood, and makes it look great. Plus, you can lightly sand the wood, if you have any scratches. For more protection, you can finish this process with a nice coat of paste wax.

There is also an oil called Cedar oil, that comes from cedar trees. It's made for applying to cedar chests, for revitalizing the aroma of cedar. Combined with a Danish oil finish, it really works well, since both are oils and you don't need to be 100% careful about masking off the area that gets cedar oil from the are that gets danish oil. The make the oil look the same, so you can oil the oak with the danish oil, and then oil the cedar with the cedar oil. Sweet.

Some people simply rejuvenate a cedar lining by lightly sanding it. But it really doesn't protect it, so if something leaks inside the chest, it can stain the unfinished cedar.

You can read more about cedar oil here: http://www.woodcraft.com/product.aspx?ProductID=14Z11&FamilyID=763

My best advice? Use the finish you like best - whether it's oil or poly.  It's really your choice. But definitely consider using cedar oil inside.

Good luck!

Jamie Yocono
Wood It Is! Custom Cabinetry
Las Vegas, NV
www.wooditis.com