Finish for indoor and outdoor Cypress???

I am wondering what people who have finished Cypress, have used for a stain or finish. I am planning on using Cypress for a bathroom vanity, and some outdoor furniture. Any suggestions? Please indicate if you have used the finish/stain suggestion. Thanks

Reply to
sailor
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I've not used cypress indoors, but have outdoors a few times. Spar varnish is OK but has to be done often for good protection.

I've had very good luck with Penofin oil on a few outdoor woods. Great stuff. I've used Sikkens Cetol Marine and I don't care for it. Darkens and did not cover well.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

I use CWF penetrating oil once a year on all my outdoor wood that does not have a stain. It will darken the wood, contains UV protection, takes a few weeks until the tackiness goes away. CWF is not for indoor use. You can buy CWF at HD.

For interior bathroom finishes, select a clear finish that has good moisture resistance, such as a polyurethane. You can stain it or pick a poly finish that contains stain. It is a good idea to seal all sides,including the underside. For a bath, shellac is probably not so good as it is easily damaged by alcohol-based products.

Reply to
Phisherman

Might want to rethink the cypress thing if you are looking for a finish similar to what you'd see with cherry, walnut, etc. I recently built a rocking chair out of cypress and put a single coat of tung to it and hated the results. Tung darkened the lighter areas and seemed ineffective on darker areas. My hopes for enhanced grain contrast were definitely not realized. In addition, the tung gave an overall honey color to the wood which I did not find pleasing. YMMV

tB

Reply to
tommyboy

I have used cypress indoors with a wipe-on oil stain followed by several wiped-on coats of Waterlox. No complaints at all, and this is a coffee table that often gets sweaty coke cans and such left on it. Waterlox is good stuff.

I've built a good bit of outdoor furniture using cypress with only fair long-term results. The cypress we get today is not the same stuff your grandaddy used. He had access to old-growth heartwood which was quite rot-resistant. What's being cut today is generally younger trees with mostly sapwood. I think I'm switching to white oak for my next outdoor furniture even though cypress is plentiful and cheap here. The chairs I built ten years ago are too rotten to use another year. The rot started at screw holes and joints where water got down into the wood, or where water could get between the two pieces. I stained them with Cabott opaque oil based deck stain. It doesn't form a film, it soaks into the wood. I like it because even though it needs refreshing every few years, it doesn't require any prep. Just paint another coat on.

DonkeyHody "Even an old blind hog finds an acorn every now and then."

Reply to
DonkeyHody

"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in news:n5Lsh.62936$ snipped-for-privacy@newssvr13.news.prodigy.net:

I'll second the Penofin oil. I've had some cypress outside for several years and it looks "almost" new. I've used the gray Penofin stain since I wanted a weathered look and didn't need to wait a dozen years to get it. The only problem I have is the cypress furniture is under several oak trees and horizontal surfaces discolor black. A quick sanding each spring removes the black crap and this year I'll probably splash on some more Penofin.

Jerry

Reply to
A Lurker

I used MinWax Wipe-On Poly for a set of cypress shelves I built. Looks great. I only did one or two coats because I wanted more of a "wood" than "plastic" look.

I tried (on a sample) Tried and True Boiled Linseed Oil and it gave the same dark/light described above.

Make sure you try it first!

Mark

Reply to
Mark Wells

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