a finish for cedar

[Gil Mitchell]

I am building a chest and it has got a cedar bottom and cedar side panels inside I would like to put something on the cedar to bring out the color, but I don't want to seal it bacause I want the cedar smell inside
thanks for any help in advance
GIL
the chest is frame and panel red oak on the outside with the cedar panels on the inside

[Dennis Peacock]

Gil,

No finish on the cedar inside or you will stop the smell of the cedar. Finish all the chest except for the inside and the smell will last a nice long time. I did this on the LOML's cedar chest and after 8 years, it still have a nice cedar smell on the inside. I used a hand rubbed poly mix for the exterior finish. She's happy with it, so I'm just tickled with it.

[Steve Schoene]

I'll agree with Dennis. Any finish will either block the cedar aroma, or will contribute its own odor.

A periodic sanding with 220 or 320 may be needed to keep the aroma fresh, so that too rules out a finish on the inside.

Its not really a good idea to finish the inside of any closed chest or drawer. The finish most likely to not cause odor problems of its own, shellac, is also the very most effective finish at blocking the aroma.