Finishing a pair of Cypress tables (here in California, most likely Monterey Cypress.) the lumber was milled, air dried for ~4 years and then I put in a kiln for a few weeks to bring down to around 9%.
It work beautifully, is stable, all was well sanded to 220 as per my usual until I applied finish to the bottom of the tables. Using Osmo PolyX which I’ve used for years on multiple species… maple, cherry, walnut, white oak, beech, etc and always get great results. That is to say I’m familiar with the finish, know how to use it.
But this cypress is showing streaks of uneven absorption. A lot of the material is quarter sawn or rift and it’s like the finish isn’t absorbing into certain areas. I even applied a light 3rd and 4th coat to see if it made any difference and it did not. The sheen differences ride areas of grain but does not look acceptable, totally different than whenever I’ve used Osmo before.
Called Osmo rep and they recommended Osmo 1101 Extra Thin, apparently it’s for exotic oiler woods like Wenge, Meranti, etc… I might try.
I didn’t wipe down the surface with Acetone first which I might also try next before trying the thinner Osmo.
I hate going in finishing detours so not sure I want to try a product I’ve never experimented with but curious if anyone has had this happen with a Cypress/Hard Wax combo?
New to the forum, glad to be here!
Replies
I don’t know about this species of wood. I do know that Christian Becksvoort works a lot in cherry and that many people have complained of cherry being blotchy whereas he “pays extra for figured cherry.” His secret is sanding up to 400 to 500 grit. If you have any off cuts, maybe try some up to that grit and see what happens. Just a thought and all I have on the topic.
Thanks for your reply Joe. Interesting to sand higher to avoid blotches with a hard wax finish… I was kind of thinking to try the opposite, stop at 180 and see if the wood absorbs more evenly, but might have to test out going higher too. It’s either not absorbing enough or too much on the trouble areas or area that look correct.
I’ve never had a problem with Osmo on cherry by the way, and I’ve never experienced this blotchy issue before, I usually sand to 220, occasionaly 320 or a steel wooling between coats if needed. It’s part of why I like using Osmo so much, it’s always easy and looks great.
This cypress has presented me with a challenge!
Becksvoort uses Tried and True oil rather than hardwax. Wasn't trying to be misleading, rather, was trying to pass along what little I know that my be helpful. I have used Osmo on cherry and it has been splotch free as well. Not sure if it is because of high level of sanding (or off my hand plane). Will be curious to see if there higher grit or lower grit makes a difference for you.