# Trying to keep Aromatic Cedar from turning brown



## getlostinwood (Apr 11, 2011)

Any ideas on which finishes keep the reds and purples on cedar longer than a couple weeks?


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## Finn (May 26, 2010)

I use a clear acrylic spray on cedar. Lacquer works also.


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## Charlie5791 (Feb 21, 2012)

Indoors or out?

I make flutes out of aromatic western red cedar. I rub them down with a 50/50 mix of citrus solvent and pure tung oil, then 25/75 (less solvent) and finally a 10/90 mix (very little solvent). If you want a higher gloss, rub them with beeswax and polish briskly with a soft cloth. I have flutes that are 3 or 4 years old and still have their color.


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## getlostinwood (Apr 11, 2011)

Indoors, doing trophy mounts and have used lacquer on the front and sides, back is unfinished and after a couple months they are losing the brightness of the reds and purpilish hues. What kind of citrus solvent?


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## Charlie5791 (Feb 21, 2012)

citrus solvent…. uh… lemme see if I can find a link…
http://www.realmilkpaint.com/citrus.html

I use natural finishes for flutes mainly because people are putting their mouth on them. All my flute finishes are food safe. 

It's still quite a powerful solvent, but much safer to work with as we're (woodworkers) generally exposed more long-term than the eventual owner of a single piece. We build lots of stuff. Less toxic fumes makes me happier.  AND… it's biodegradeable so no worries about disposal. (As long as it's not mixed with something ELSE that may be harmful)


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## jusfine (May 22, 2010)

Would spraying or putting a finish on it seal it and prevent it from being aromatic?


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## Charlie5791 (Feb 21, 2012)

Pretty much, yeah. I just went and smelled some of my older flutes… heheheh…. ok that sounded weird even to me…. and I can still smell the cedar, but also the tung oil. The ones that were waxed, I can't really smell the cedar any more. I have 2 that were poly'ed (gifted to me) and you can't smell the cedar at all on those. BUT, the poly'ed ones retained color better than any of the others I think. I say, "I think" because different batches of blanks have different coloring and I might be comparing to some that started out less red… *shrug*


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