# Making wood harder???



## Maverick44spec (Aug 7, 2011)

Hi everyone. I am finishing up a box made of white cedar (it's really soft like pine, maybe softer) and I'm wanting to harden it a little. I was wondering if wipe on poly or sanding sealer would work. It doesn't have to be as hard as steel when I'm done, I just want it to be a little harder.

Thanks


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## pintodeluxe (Sep 12, 2010)

I once went to a motorcycle shop to ask if anything would make my Virago 500 faster. 
He stared at me with a blank face and said….. Yeah, sell it and buy a Ninja.

In that vein, I would recommend a much harder wood like white oak.


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## DCarrier (Nov 23, 2011)

You really cannot harden wood but in my opinion you want to use a good film finish like polyurethane. I think much ado is made about soft wood thats not warranted. I have an entire pine dining room set that survived raising 2 kids and 3 dogs and looks wonderful. I don't know what the purpose of you box is, but unless it's a tool box a good finish will be all you need.


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## Maverick44spec (Aug 7, 2011)

Good advice. I cannot say I hated this project, but I didn't really enjoy it. (I blame the wood for this, it's extremely hard to work with because it is so soft, plus, it warps horribly) The customer picked out the wood, and it's pretty, just not the best wood to work with. It probably will never see any heavy use, so it should be fine. I hope.


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## Maverick44spec (Aug 7, 2011)

Thanks for the advice, I guess I'll go with a coat of SS followed by the poly.


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## childress (Sep 14, 2008)

You could impregnate it with a thinned out coat of epoxy. It would absorb into the wood ending up making the wood harder. Pretty much turning it into plastic if it penetrates good enough. Just depends on how much you're willing to spend because the right epoxy for this is not that cheap (you have to buy more than what you would need, but then you'd have some good epoxy around, which might not be a bad thing).


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## Dal300 (Aug 4, 2011)

Childress, 
How would I go about thinning out epoxy? Would I use meneral spirits or acetone?
I've thought about doing that on a few projects, but usually ended up using Bartop coating, sometimes up to 1/2 or 3/4" thick.


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## Maverick44spec (Aug 7, 2011)

Thanks for the advice childress. I can't do it on this project because I have already applied the sanding sealer but I'll be sure to remember that next time I work with soft wood. I think the sanding sealer will work. I applied two thick coats and the wood soaked up most of that.


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## childress (Sep 14, 2008)

Dallas,

You can use lacquer thinner or Acetone. I use acetone. Just be very careful because when you do this, as it can be very volatile, so you need to make sure you are in a well ventilated area. Preferable outside….


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