I have made a number of project out of both red and silver dollar eucalyptus. Every finish I’ve tried has darkened the wood, some considerably. I made a rolling pin from a silver dollar eucalyptus branch. It has yellow streaks in it that I would like to keep. Any ideas would be welcome. Even clear shellac tends to mute the yellow and hides it.
Discussion Forum
Get It All!
UNLIMITED Membership is like taking a master class in woodworking for less than $10 a month.
Start Your Free TrialCategories
Discussion Forum
Digital Plans Library
Member exclusive! – Plans for everyone – from beginners to experts – right at your fingertips.
Highlights
-
Shape Your Skills
when you sign up for our emails
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. -
Shop Talk Live Podcast -
Our favorite articles and videos -
E-Learning Courses from Fine Woodworking
-
-
Replies
One of the concerns is that eucalyptus is a really oily wood. You could try mineral oil or acetone first on the surfaces you're finishing as they'll help dry it up a bit.
This is gonna sound strange but teak oil, or something similar is a good finish. Also, pure tung oil won't discolor the wood.
Mikaol
I have not finished Eucalyptus but when I want the wood color to not take the wet or amber tone most finishes provide, I use water soluble finishes starting with General Finishes Sanding sealer followed by a water based finish such as their High Performance. The wood actually shows the wet look after application but returns to its original color when the varnish dries.
Clearest finishes I have found are also water based. I like the General Finishes High Performance. Zero color added.
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled