How to Re-finish an Old Cedar Trunk?
#1
11-11-10, 11:47 AM
How to Re-finish an Old Cedar Trunk?
My wife has an old cedar trunk that she inherited from her grandmother, that we had to repair by gluing it back together again. We sanded it down somewhat, but there are still a lot of areas that need to be filled with wood filler, etc... I used a light colored wood filler on it somewhat already, as you can see from the photos below (I might have to remove this filler if it doesn't finish OK)
What is the best way to fill the holes/spots and also what is the best way to finish the trunk so it looks nice? We don't want to just paint it, but rather apply some kind of finish to show the nice wood grain of the cedar. Advice would be appreciated. Some pics:
Photo of entire trunk from front side:
Good pic of the top corner of lid (example of the gaps and holes that need filling, as you can also see the wood filler already present - light coloured spots):
Pic of inside of the lid, you can see the glue spread out near the bottom edge:
Backside of trunk showing the hinges that I put on:
What is the best way to fill the holes/spots and also what is the best way to finish the trunk so it looks nice? We don't want to just paint it, but rather apply some kind of finish to show the nice wood grain of the cedar. Advice would be appreciated. Some pics:
Photo of entire trunk from front side:
Good pic of the top corner of lid (example of the gaps and holes that need filling, as you can also see the wood filler already present - light coloured spots):
Pic of inside of the lid, you can see the glue spread out near the bottom edge:
Backside of trunk showing the hinges that I put on:
#2
11-11-10, 01:46 PM
Generally a poly or varnish is used to finish wood like that but the wood filler may pose a problem. It will need to be colored with a stain but I'm not sure it will take stain like the real wood will. If the chest is built out of aromic cedar, the inside is usually left uncoated.
#6
11-12-10, 11:25 AM
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Wet side of Washington state.
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This is not my area of expertise but I think that any type of clear finish is going to make those patches stand out something horrible. You are going to have to use some stain and hopefully the patches will take the stain evenly and approximately the same as the wood.
No finish at all on the inside. It is the natural cedar aroma that keeps the moths away.
How did I miss all those other posts? GI2
No finish at all on the inside. It is the natural cedar aroma that keeps the moths away.
How did I miss all those other posts? GI2
#7
11-12-10, 01:23 PM
Unless you can find someone familiar with staining the wood filler you used, I'd experiment with some stain on the bottom or back side of the chest. I doubt it will be a quick easy solution to get the stain fairly uniform. Basically whichever part stains the darkest - the other part will need to be darkened up to match [or close]
