# Sealing cedar bark



## Wadata (Mar 3, 2018)

Hello all,

I'm new to this forum and have a question and am looking for some feedback. I have a family heirloom recently inherited from my passing grandparents. It is one piece of cedar with the family name cut into it. I have sanded and sealed the face part of it but am concerned of rot/deterioration of the exterior sides where the original bark still exists. I could sand that all down and seal it, but would like to keep it for the rustic look. Any ideas on the best way to fully seal this piece without having to get rid of the bark?


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Anything you would put on it would help hold the wood fibers. What you need to worry about is the appearance, especially the sign part you sanded. Any oil based finish is going to have an initial yellow cast to it and continue to yellow as it ages. You could achieve what you are wanting to do with a water based polyurethane and the finish would remain clear. It would just take a lot more coats and elbow grease. The water in waterborne finishes really fuzz up the wood and they are thin so it may take two or three coats sanding between coats before the wood starts feeling smooth again. You may end up with a half dozen coats on before you get the same thickness of finish you would achieve with two oil based coats.


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## 35015 (Nov 24, 2012)

Wadata said:


> Hello all,
> 
> I'm new to this forum and have a question and am looking for some feedback. I have a family heirloom recently inherited from my passing grandparents. It is one piece of cedar with the family name cut into it. I have sanded and sealed the face part of it but am concerned of rot/deterioration of the exterior sides where the original bark still exists. I could sand that all down and seal it, but would like to keep it for the rustic look. Any ideas on the best way to fully seal this piece without having to get rid of the bark?


Hello Wadata,

That looks like a very nice family heirloom...Its great to have things like that and to take care of them...

I do a great deal of museum grade restoration work and consulting. As such a piece like this needs some rather specialized care to perform well and last. Appearance is second to it actually staying durable and intake, as appearance alone doesn't stop it from rotting away. For one thing, it being expose to the weather elements, in time, will be the end of it for sure. Nothing can really be done, per se, about that, but there are some suggested ways to mitigate that.

First "sealing wood" as many modern approach this, would be more a suggestion found from a selling manufacture's recommendation than actual..."good practice." Plastic finishes of any type are a poor practice at best, if not down right decay promoters. Especially if a plastic finish like poly of any type is used. This actually promotes decay ad delamination of the wood itself rather rapidly. The wood can be traditionally oiled, and not all of these turn yellow, many turn dark brown, while others tend to arrest the color right where it is in pretty good shape. Treated with traditional finishing modalities as many are natural decay inhibitors and promote permeability (what some call breathing) of the wood so it can dry out between the times it gets wet would be the best practice for such a piece...

That part that is in decay is only going to spread. The area needs to be excised and a wood patch put into place. Now this can be done as a "conservation effort" (aka modern materials) or a "restoration" (aka means, methods and materials as it would have been in the past) This isn't an historic piece, but I will presume your family would like it to become one? As such, most "conservation methods" do not endure well when exposed to the elements, but then again nothing really does over time.

As to the bark...??...I really don't see any left on the piece as it would have been on the tree. I would suggest just removing the rotted area, and fitting a new piece of cedar into that area (challenging yes) but the "best practice" for such restorations...shaping the new wood to match the contouring of the original with a small draw knife. This is a common practice and not that difficult actually do. 

Just adding anything, like an epoxy, glue, or other wood solidifier will only promote rot and a new demarcation line further spreading the decay as most of the polymers trap moisture and do not allow the wood to stay permeable...

Another common restoration practice for pieces exposed like this a is a copper cladding on the upper exposed edges...Kind of like a little roof is the best way to understand them. This can be done in such a fashion as not to be intrusive to the overall design and actually enhance it. It also greatly extends the exposed life span of the project.

Good Luck,

j


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

The thing about cedar is it practically doesn't rot. It's why a lot of farmers use cedar for fence posts. The log the sign is made out of probably had that appearance the day it was made. Kept out of the weather whether it has a finish on it or not I don't think you will live long enough to see it deteriorate. I have a dead cedar tree behind my shop that has been standing there for more than 30 years and it hasn't deteriorated any more than loosing the bark. 

The appearance is all you need to be concerned about. Cedar has such bright distinct colors when it's newly sanded but quickly turns brown if it's only oiled. Having a waterborne finish will retain that color and provide the UV protection it needs to keep those bright colors as long as possible.


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## 35015 (Nov 24, 2012)

1. We have zero native Cedars...We do have Junipers and Cypress (et al)

2. A tree standing dead in regards to one of these species can actually last up to 750 years...perhaps more....as the Dendrological research is still trying to learn more about this. Nevertheless...a tree laying down...on the ground or near it...is another situation entirely.

3. As has been pointed out here on this forum and in others on this topic...rot resistance...is not all the same, even among the same species...for many different and unknown reasons.

4. "Plastic finishes" of any kind waterborne, or not...should really not be used in such applications, They tend to trap moisture and are virtually impossible to strip off effectively and refinish without loosing material from the piece that is trying to be saved...Exterior grade natural oils with Uv inhibitors are perhaps the most effective and easy to maintain. They can be reapplied again and again if (or when) it is warranted with little effort than a bug sprayer. These can darken the colors. 

5. Simply getting the sign off the ground a bit further, and sheltering with copper or a small roof without any treatment would keep the colors most natural...it will go gray in time.


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