# Finish for red cedar bowl?



## jeffski1 (Nov 29, 2008)

I recently finished turning a red cedar bowl with a friend.Any suggestions for a finish?.Do I keep it natural because it does smell nice?.Thx….


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## MadMark (Jun 3, 2014)

If this is for food use I'd encase it in glass 'cause cedar will taint any foodstuffs. For decoration, try a couple of different finishes on some scraps and see what looks best.

M


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## jeffski1 (Nov 29, 2008)

MadMark…No its not for food use.I do have some scraps and will try some different finishes.Thx…


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## poospleasures (Aug 7, 2011)

I have turned several bowls from dry cedar over the last three years. Some from chunks and some segmented mixed with other woods and so far have had no bad results with finish. All are sanded to appx. 400 then wiped Sealcoat on foam rubber, allow to dry then coat again and let dry. Now lightly sand and wipe on another thin coat. Now on the bench hand sand lightly and spray on a very heavy coat polyurethane. This makes a super smooth,shinny,hard finish which my customers seem to like. I have one now which I have held onto for more than a year and it shows no discoloration or defects. It sets in my garage shop which gets very hot and humid (summer) and very cold in (winter). I don,t advocate putting my turnings in water but have experimented by putting water in some for long periods and have had no problems. I do tell customers dry items only and to clean with a damp cloth.


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## allaboard (Aug 15, 2016)

> I recently finished turning a red cedar bowl with a friend.Any suggestions for a finish?.Do I keep it natural because it does smell nice?.Thx….
> 
> - jeff


Jeff, I was thinking of having one of my buddies turn a cedar bowl. Do you have any pics you could post. I'd like to see how it turned out.

I'd like one like this:


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## welcon (Dec 3, 2012)

Yeah show Photos of your bowl, Western Red Cedar is one of my favourite woods.


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## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

Any finish will be food safe when dry, see post by Charles Neil.


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