The Finishing of Cedar
Red cedar, contrary to supposition, is not a hard wood to finish.
Having a closed grain, it needs no filler, which greatly simplifies
its finishing. The outside, and the inner side of the cover—to prevent
warping—should be finished; =never the inside of the chest=.
PREPARING THE WOOD FOR FINISHING
The cedar chest should be prepared for finishing as any other piece of
furniture is prepared. All glue and rough spots should be carefully
scraped and sandpapered until the surface is entirely free from
defects. If the wood in the chest has been purchased glued up and
machine sandpapered, it will need a final sandpapering with No. 0 or
No. 00 sandpaper. If worked down by hand, it will need a great deal
of scraping with a =sharp= scraper, a preliminary rubbing with No. 1
sandpaper, and a final rubbing with No. 0, working =with the grain= in
each case. Careful dusting preparatory to the application of the first
coat of finish is very necessary.
FILLING ROUGH SPOTS
As red cedar contains a great many knots, planing the wood by hand—and
occasionally by machine—causes rough spots to occur around the
knots. If these rough spots are shallow, they can be scraped out and
sandpapered, but if they are deep, they must be filled.
There are a number of methods of filling. The most simple—and least
satisfactory—method is to fill them with “water putty,” a dry crack
filler purchased in powder form and mixed with water. When it has
hardened it can be rubbed down with sandpaper and colored to match the
surrounding wood. As this color will fade in time, this method is not
recommended.
A better method is to fill them with a colored wood filler. Secure a
small can of natural paste wood filler, a little rose pink dry stain,
and some Van Dyke brown dry stain. Thin the filler with turpentine or
benzine and add a quantity of the Van Dyke brown, well stirred in.
Compare this color with that of the knots around which you are going to
fill and add the rose pink until the correct shade of red is obtained.
Apply this filler to the knots, and when perfectly dry, sandpaper down
to an even surface.
A third method—much slower than the other two—is the application of
successive coats of colored shellac. To the ordinary shellac, add a
little Bismark brown dry stain until you get a color that will match,
when dry, the wood surrounding the rough spots. Apply this and allow it
to set. Sandpaper down and apply successive coats, rubbing down evenly
after each until a level surface is obtained. Repeated coats of thin
shellac will look better and stick better than a few heavy coats.
COLORING THE WOOD
Some people object to the white streaks of sap wood contrasting so
strongly with the red heart wood, while others are of the opinion that
this contrast is one of the beauties of red cedar. The author is of the
opinion that the white wood is not objectionable =if there is not too
much of it=. Just what quantity to allow is again a matter of personal
choice, so no hard and fast rule can be laid down.
To color the chest prepare an aniline dye stain of red and brown. Cover
the entire piece with a thin coat, then go over the lighter parts and
streaks with a stronger coat. If carefully done, this should even up
the color.
If the maker does not mix his own stains, a red mahogany oil stain
applied in the same manner will leave the same result. Thin the first
coat out with benzine.
WAX FINISH
After filling and coloring, if the latter is desired, the kind of
finish must be selected. The most simple is the wax but it is very
seldom used—almost never by cedar chest manufacturers. But since it is
often employed by students and home craftsmen it will be described.
Over the dry surface apply a coat of thin shellac, either white or
orange. When this has thoroughly dried, rub it down lightly with No.
00 sandpaper and apply a second coat. When this has set, repeat the
rubbing, being very careful not to rub through the coat, especially on
the edges and corners. Brush on the third coat of shellac and rub it
down with a little boiled linseed oil placed on the No. 00 sandpaper.
This should leave a smooth, unpitted surface.
Finally, apply a coat of prepared floor wax and allow it to stand over
night. Rub it briskly with a dry flannel cloth, bringing it to a good
polish. If a still higher gloss is desired, put on a second coat of wax
and allow it to stand about thirty minutes before rubbing off.
This finish can be renewed from time to time with fresh applications of
wax, and has the advantage over the varnished surface of not showing
scratches as readily.
VARNISH FINISH
For a varnish finish apply but two coats of shellac in the manner
described above, and two coats of high grade rubbing varnish.
The temperature of the room in which the varnishing is accomplished
should be 70 degrees F. or over, and perfectly uniform. The room should
be free from dust, and kept free after the varnish has been applied.
Use an oval varnish brush, well dusted in the hand. Take up a brush
full of the liquid as it comes from the can, and, starting from the
center of the top, spread it out to the edges. Where it drips over,
take up this surplus with the end of the brush. The sides should be
varnished by working down from the top edge.
The inside of the cover should be supported so that the air can
circulate around it, otherwise it would be very slow in drying.
Allow about five days for the varnish to thoroughly dry in before
rubbing it down. Then sprinkle powdered pumice stone over the surface,
and rub it with a felt pad (about 4” by 5”) moistened with water. Rub
all surfaces while they are in a horizontal position if possible. Rub
=lightly= and =evenly with the grain=, and be very sure that you do not
go below the coat in any place—edges especially.
Wash the pumice stone off with water and rub dry with a clean cloth
after which the second coat is applied in the same manner. Allow this
coat about five days in which to dry when the polishing process can
be started. Rub it down as before with pumice stone and water, then
remove the fine scratches left by the pumice stone by rubbing in a
similar manner with rotten stone and water. =Always rub with the grain
if possible.= Next, moisten the hand with linseed oil and sprinkle a
little rotten stone in it. Very lightly go over the entire surface with
this combination, rubbing with the grain. When perfectly smooth, clean
the surface with a very soft cloth saturated with clean oil, and rub
dry with cotton batting.
To finish the polish, go over the entire surface with another soft pad
of cotton batting saturated with some good furniture polish, or a thin
mixture of linseed oil, turpentine, and sweet oil. This should produce
an extremely brilliant and satisfactory finish if good materials have
been used and care exercised in their application.
OIL FINISH
If an oil finish is desired go over the wood, after it has been filled
and colored, with a coat of =hot linseed oil=. When thoroughly dry,
wipe off the “grease spots,” if there are any, and give the wood a coat
of shellac. This can be followed with a second coat of shellac, rubbed
down with pumice stone and oil, or the varnish finish as described
above can be applied over the second coat of shellac.
ENAMEL FINISH
There is a modern demand evinced for enameled and painted furniture,
especially in some of the Period designs. To meet this demand, cedar
chest manufacturers have recently introduced chests enameled on the
outside, and left natural on the inside, the designs being made to
correspond with various periods—Adam and William and Mary being
predominant.
Old ivory—a soft shade of cream—is the most popular finish, especially
when decorated parts are striped with orange, while black enamel,
striped with gold, is second best.
These finishes are applied in the conventional manner—the ivory enamel
being under-coated with flat white.
On school-made chests these finishes are not to be recommended. In the
first place, they are only temporary fads—pretty creations to catch
the popular fancy that may be “old-fashioned” next year. And secondly,
there is no good reason for hiding the natural beauties of red cedar
with enamels. Carefully selected wood, with its wonderful contrasts of
sap and heart wood, certainly give color enough.
LACQUER FINISH
The wood should be prepared as directed in the preceding paragraphs,
and after it has been well dusted, a coat of lacquer is applied.
This is the regular cotton lacquer (banana oil), and it must not be
confounded with the wood lacquers now so extensively advertised. When
dry it is sanded lightly and given a second coat, the spreading of
which must be done quickly and without overlapping.
Lacquer serves not only as a protection for the wood, but it also acts
to keep the odor of the cedar confined in the wood, and it protects
the wood against moisture better than any of the finishing coatings.
Over this second coat, apply a bit of thin wax, or a coat of rubbing
varnish, as desired.
This method of finishing cedar chests is one of the most common in the
furniture factories, as it preserves the full beauty of the grain.