Treatment for stump chair?

[Swampster]

Hi, I was asked to leave a stump, carved into a seat.... It is cypress and not at all rotten.

What would you suggest applying to the cut surfaces if anything?

I appreciate it may not last for long but the client wants some info and I don't know beyond suggesting Danish oil?

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks

Adam

[Gray git]

Decking oil that has a fungerside in it might be good and probably cheaper

[thewoodwizard]

I would use decking oil too

[Swampster]

Thanks Mr Gray, I'll offer up that suggestion.

[Swampster]

...and Wood Wizard.

[dervishcarving]

For ages i wa suggesting deckign oil and it IS a good product

BUT it has a few limitations.

You really need to dilute it 50:50 with white spirit for the first few coats or it wont soak in far enough. You need to build up layers of thinned-down deckign oil and then apply some undiluted layers

but how dry the wood is has a huge effect on the finish. Any moisture in the wood and it can result in a cloudy 'icky' finish that i really dont like on any smooth surfaces

an alternative is to apply a few coats of teak oil or danish oil and then a few coats of diluted decking oil. The teak oil tends to displace any surface 'dampness' and i find i get better results

 

however, Im a scientist and like many others, i am always looking to see what might be even better than what i am already using.. so this is my next 'try', based o9n discussions with a few others.

a few coats of danish oil (just to get the moisture levels down and to soak in nicely) and then a few coats of this stuff, diluted 50:50 with danish oil

Wood Protective Treatment & Preserver 5L Clear -

after that you can give maybe a coat or two with undiluted stuff and it should now be pretty stable

 

sorry for the wall-of-text, but you did ask

 

oh.. i know this might sound strange considering i am now effectively an environmental scientist etc etc... but dont bother using any preservative that is water based. High VOC is what you want water based stuff with wax etc is just rubbish. Goes on easy but washes away too quickly

[Ukulian]

What he said, + Cypress is one of the longer lasting timbers for carvings :)