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I'm putting a cypress beam above an interior opening between my kitchen and living room. Can anyone recommend a good way to finish the wood? It has a little character, faint saw marks, some knots, etc.

I read online some recommendations of shellac. I've tried several coats of the amber shellac on a test piece, and, so far, I'm afraid it's turning out too orange. I am gonna pick up a can of clear shellac and try a few coats of it next.

The wife does not want the really light, yellowish look that I often see. Anybody been down this road?

You're probably going to just have to go get a bunch of those small sample cans of Minwax stain until you find a color you like?

I (think) I remember liking "early American" on Cypress for some reason? But don't quote me on that. I'm thinking it produced a darker than orange color that you're describing?

http://cypressdepot.com/beams-posts.html

If you see something you like, I'm sure they could point you in the right direction as to how it was finished.

I like the look of the Early American that I've seen online. I've bought enough stuff for this little project to open a hardware store.

You can mix stains. A lot of people add a little black or dark gray or walnut to a lighter stain to get a more antique look. Check out Pinterest for some good examples.

Y'all both saved the day. Early American was a game changer. I mixed a touch of it with boiled linseed oil and just a pinch of darker Danish oil, and the first coat looks exactly like what I was going for. I'm a little nervous about a second coat, since is don't want it much darker. The wood definitely soaked the first coat right up, though.

just wax it. use johnson paste wax, or for a harder finish you can use carnauba wax

you can rub it on and buff it off, or you can heat some in a crock pot brush it on and then buff it after it dries.

it is a high quality finish and will last forever, and it will keep the natural look of the wood.

jdbuckshot wrote:just wax it. use johnson paste wax, or for a harder finish you can use carnauba wax

you can rub it on and buff it off, or you can heat some in a crock pot brush it on and then buff it after it dries.

it is a high quality finish and will last forever, and it will keep the natural look of the wood.

^^^ the wax is the way to go.

I needed it darker than what wax alone would give me. I may use a wax for the final step.

With that said I will try some wax in the underside, since I'm curious what it will look like, by itself. I tried linseed oil and shellac, by themselves, and the wife wasn't liking the natural look.

Well I'm back to being a little disappointed. Now that those couple of coats have dried, the finish is quite boring. The faint saw marks that had looked so nice yesterday have all but disappeared. I tried a more dilute coat (mostly linseed oil), and that didn't help much. It's a pretty color now, but the weathered look it had has really gone away. I'm hoping this coat dries quickly and I can get another coat on that's heavier on the Danish oil. That's what seemed to be bringing contrast to the grain and saw marks.