best finish to allow natural darkening of the wood

[Dirk D]

I made a decoration that will hang on the wall for my Wife. Its made from Mulberry. Mulberry as some will know has a green color when freshly machined or worked. Then if left to sit it will turn to a a medium brown color over a long period of time, maybe a year? A big change in appearance.
When finishing Mulberry I'd like the finish to allow the wood to change color as it would on its own.
So I'd like to get ideas on what  to use as a finish that will allow the natural color change.
I suspect some sort of water based finish would be best, but not a polyurethane finish as that I suspect would seal the wood to natural oxidation and UV rays.

If anyone has worked with Mulberry and gone thru this I'd like to hear your experiences.

Thanks for any and all responses.

 

[Vondawg]

I’ve never worked with Mulberry, but Cherry fades naturally with lacquer (nitro) finish, maybe true with mulberry

 

[Duckler]

Danish oil. Very easy to use.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

An oil finish is likely to give you the effect you are looking for. Tung Oil or Boiled Linseed Oil have a fairly amber color to start with, then they darken with age, while also allowing the wood to oxidize naturally too.

Easy wipe on application and neither has a toxic fume smell.

 

[Svar]

Another vote for Danish oil or similar. Oil gives the best look and feel for wood in my opinion. Cherry darkens butifuly under it. Being a decoration it doesn't need durable scratch resistant finish.

 

[luvmytoolz]

Another vote for Danish Oil. Although it will darken considerably over time and with exposure to UV, it does still allow the natural chatoyance to show through, and is unbelievably easy to rejuvenate if needed.

 

[Packard]

Carnauba wax (with qualifications).

Wiki says it does offer UV protection.

Other sites say otherwise. 

It will create obstacles to applying a durable finish later on as it is difficult to remove all traces of it for good adhesion.

The wax I currently use is a blend of carnauba and bees waxes.  You don’t often see pure carnauba wax, so the blend might have more UV protection than pure carnauba.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnauba_wax

 

[Crazyraceguy]

I think the main reason you don't often see 100% Carnuba wax finishes is because it's so hard to buff out after. It does last longer though; that's why people do mix some into their beeswax formula. (15-20% typically)
So far, I haven't used any Carnuba in any of my experiments, starting with Microcrystaline wax as an additive to my beeswax.
I've made a few different mixes from purely Beeswax and Mineral oil, for cutting boards, to a Linseed Oil, Beeswax and Microcrystaline wax, with a little Mineral Spirits, for machine tops/fences.
More of the drying oils in the mix, makes it into a wipe on "finish" rather than a final wax, which you would apply after the finish has cured.

 

[Packard]

Depending upon which site you are reading, pure tung oil is either a good protection against UV, a modest protection against UV or a poor protection against UV.

I thought it was the latter (poor protection) and was going to recommend it.  It is easy to apply and looks natural. 

The O.P. Will have to do some more research on the UV protection.  I could not find any source that I would trust (most are selling tung oil, so are biased).

Since it is hanging on the wall, and the only deterioration it might experience is UV or getting knocked off the wall, I would leave it unfinished until the desired appearance occurs.  Then I would take it down from the wall and apply a finish with good UV protection.

I used to be a picture framer.  The biggest problem wall art faces is when children start throwing balls around the room, or when Mom decides to clean the glass while it is still on the wall.  I think your mulberry art will be safe from most issues except the UV, even with no finish applied.

 

[leakyroof]

Depending upon which site you are reading, pure tung oil is either a good protection against UV, a modest protection against UV or a poor protection against UV.

I thought it was the latter (poor protection) and was going to recommend it.  It is easy to apply and looks natural. 

The O.P. Will have to do some more research on the UV protection.  I could not find any source that I would trust (most are selling tung oil, so are biased).

Since it is hanging on the wall, and the only deterioration it might experience is UV or getting knocked off the wall, I would leave it unfinished until the desired appearance occurs.  Then I would take it down from the wall and apply a finish with good UV protection.

I used to be a picture framer.  The biggest problem wall art faces is when children start throwing balls around the room, or when Mom decides to clean the glass while it is still on the wall.  I think your mulberry art will be safe from most issues except the UV, even with no finish applied.

  I don't know of any UV protection from Tung Oil unless additives are added that are true UV protection. By itself, I can't imagine there is any.  I bet Bob Flexner's book on Wood Finishing would be a pretty informed guide to that question... [scratch chin] [scratch chin]

 

[jeffinsgf]

I have a pair of padauk coffee tables that I finished with Osmo Polyx. In my opinion, they have taken their natural color change perfectly. I've seen the same with sassafras, which naturally ages from greenish/gray to a medium to medium dark brown.

Bonus...Polyx might be the easiest finish to apply in the world. Wipe it on, wipe it off. Do the same the next day, done.

 

[Packard]

Depending upon which site you are reading, pure tung oil is either a good protection against UV, a modest protection against UV or a poor protection against UV.

I thought it was the latter (poor protection) and was going to recommend it.  It is easy to apply and looks natural. 

The O.P. Will have to do some more research on the UV protection.  I could not find any source that I would trust (most are selling tung oil, so are biased).

Since it is hanging on the wall, and the only deterioration it might experience is UV or getting knocked off the wall, I would leave it unfinished until the desired appearance occurs.  Then I would take it down from the wall and apply a finish with good UV protection.

I used to be a picture framer.  The biggest problem wall art faces is when children start throwing balls around the room, or when Mom decides to clean the glass while it is still on the wall.  I think your mulberry art will be safe from most issues except the UV, even with no finish applied.

  I don't know of any UV protection from Tung Oil unless additives are added that are true UV protection. By itself, I can't imagine there is any.  I bet Bob Flexner's book on Wood Finishing would be a pretty informed guide to that question... [scratch chin] [scratch chin]

That was my opinion too.  But Google’s AI directed me to sites that said otherwise and sites that said likewise.

As an aside, I find it fairly easy to overload Google’s AI.  When that happens the screen flashes the searches over and over again and then the screen goes black and does not recover. 

All I have to do is ask a question posed as a sentence.  Good grammar apparently was not written into the code.

I just asked, “What is the best clear finish with no UV protection?”  It overloaded Google.

Here is the link, or just ask the same question to Google.

Addendum:  On my computer the re-questioned Google did not get overloaded.  Perhaps it had time to recover.  And does better with each subsequent search.

By the way, Google said that “ If you're looking for a clear finish with no UV protection, a water-based polyurethane is generally considered the best option as it offers a clear, durable finish without added UV inhibitors; however, be aware that most "clear" finishes on the market will have some level of UV protection, so carefully check the product label to ensure it lacks this feature.”

https://www.google.com/search?q=what+is+the+best+clear+finish+with+no+uv+protection&client=firefox-b-1-m&sca_esv=583e6ef20822dac9&sxsrf=ADLYWIJVSc7ADuLSM76_BtGSF8oVbbIONA%3A1734793973419&ei=9dpmZ42aGdCk5NoPge2DoQQ&ved=0ahUKEwjN6KyUk7mKAxVQElkFHYH2IEQQ4dUDCBA&uact=5&oq=what+is+the+best+clear+finish+with+no+uv+protection&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiM3doYXQgaXMgdGhlIGJlc3QgY2xlYXIgZmluaXNoIHdpdGggbm8gdXYgcHJvdGVjdGlvbjIFECEYoAEyBRAhGKABMgUQIRigATIFECEYqwJI6OADUKISWOLWA3ADeAGQAQGYAbgBoAHdK6oBBDY4Lje4AQPIAQD4AQGYAkygAuctqAIKwgIKEAAYsAMY1gQYR8ICBBAjGCfCAgUQABiABMICBhAAGBYYHsICCxAAGIAEGIYDGIoFwgIIEAAYgAQYogTCAgoQABiABBhDGIoFwgIKEAAYgAQYFBiHAsICCBAAGIAEGLEDwgILEAAYgAQYsQMYgwHCAgUQLhiABMICChAjGIAEGCcYigXCAgsQLhiABBixAxiDAcICCBAuGIAEGLEDwgILEAAYgAQYkQIYigXCAg4QABiABBixAxiDARiKBcICBxAjGCcY6gLCAhEQLhiABBiRAhjRAxjHARiKBcICEBAAGIAEGLEDGEMYgwEYigXCAhEQLhiABBixAxjRAxiDARjHAcICCxAuGIAEGLEDGNQCwgIOEC4YgAQYsQMY0QMYxwHCAgUQIRifBcICCBAAGKIEGIkFmAMG8QWWZbCOlsSHhYgGAZAGCJIHBTY1LjExoAfQyQQ&sclient=gws-wiz-serp