Cedar Chest

[Rich Aldrich]

I am building a cedar chest for my daughter for Christmas. What is the best finish to use for western cedar?

[Phil Mueller]

Assuming it’s aromatic red cedar, I would sand the inside smooth and leave it natural to take advantage of the cedar smell. If the smell dissapates over the years, you can always give it another light sanding. If you choose to finish the inside, don’t use any solvent based finished...it will smell for years. A thin seal with Shellac would be my choice. I would avoid wax on the inside as that can smell for a long time as well.

For the outside, you can finish in whatever you like. I’ve done several cedar pieces with Watco natural to bring out the color, wet sanding up to 400 to 600 grit to fill the grain and give a very smooth surface. After a week or so of curing, on one piece I used shellac, and on another I used ArmRSeal, let cure, then wax. Both look great; the ArmRSeal being more durable than the shellac.

I believe a number of folks here have done cedar chests and will hopefully chime in on what they did.

As I’m sure others will suggest, take a few offcuts and try a few finishes to see what you prefer and are comfortable applying.

By the way, you live in a beautiful area.

[Rich Aldrich]

It is western cedar left over from a pergola I made in 2017 for her. I thought it would be cool to use what was left. However, I plan to put an eastern red cedar (aromatic red cedar) bottom in the chest. I use Watco Danish oil natural for turnings. Is this the same as you are recommending as the first coat to pop the grain? Then the ArmRseal or Shellac would be the seal coats?

[Phil Mueller]

Yes, same Watco, and then Shellac or ArmRSeal as top coats.