Cedar coloring

[Addison Taylor]

I am building a desk out of texas cedar fence material and I want the red in the cedar to pop. Can anyone tell me how to stain the red to keep it red and the white to stay white. Again this will be a desk but it will be in my office. The top will be covered with the thick high gloss finish.

[Barry McFadden]

I think this should be posted in the Project Finishing forum....

[Mike Dowell]

I am building a desk out of texas cedar fence material and I want the red in the cedar to pop. Can anyone tell me how to stain the red to keep it red and the white to stay white. Again this will be a desk but it will be in my office. The top will be covered with the thick high gloss finish.

If you like the colors the way they are, I wouldn't stain at all. Just apply your finish and be done with it. If you want to add some depth without adding color, I like Mohawk's Oil Stain Base. It's basically the ingredients in an oil-based wiping stain, minus the dye and pigment, so it's clear. Follow that with your top coats. Post pictures when it's done!