I need some cypress staining recommendations

YouEnjoyMyEgg

I'm a complete noob when it comes to wood and staining.  I had a cypress table made for my new LBGE and after a few cooks I'm seeing it gather stains. A few questions - can I stain cypress right away or do I need to wait like pine?  And when I do stain it, what should I use?  What brand is best?  and any other staining tips you could share would be greatly appreciated.  Otherwise I'm sure I'm going to screw this up!   

Mayberry

Cypress is a very dense wood and won't take stain very easily, but will last forever if you take proper care of it.  So, if you do decide to stain, use a stain a few shades darker than you really want.  After that, you will need to put on some sort of polyurethane, mainly because the stain won't penetrate the wood very well.  I just used a helmsman clear polyurethane on mine?  It  keeps the natural shade of the wood, but protects against elements and typical food stains.  Hope this helps.

nolaegghead

I use cypress for just about everything I make out of wood, and I prefer the way it looks without any stain.  That said, my buddy just built 7 tables using cypress in my shop and he stained 6 of them.  Seems to take stain well.  I've never used new growth cypress, but the old swamp cypress takes any finish very well.  The end grain is like a sponge.

Use a spar paint over whatever you do (stain or natural).  Helmsman is fine.  3 coats minimum, sand between coats. 

cortguitarman

If you don't mind a little maintenance every now and then, a simple Danish Oil will do the trick. The oil makes the natural beauty of the wood pop.

For a more durable finish, I'd gp with the spar urethane. This will give the wood a gloss finish that makes dir easy cleaning.

YouEnjoyMyEgg

Thanks for all the responses.  After much debate I went with Cabot's Australian Timber Oil (Honey Teak) and I couldn't be more pleased.  The cypress was new cypress, and I even had PTP supports (new PTP), and all of it took the Timber Oil quite well.  The cypress took it better of course, and it looks beautiful.  But I was quite surprised how well the PTP took the stain.  I was going to let the pine dry out a few months but my impatience got the better of me and I tested a small inconspicuous spot.  And it took it well, so I went ahead with the entire table.  One coat.  Which is all they recommend.  The table looks great and is beading water perfectly.  I'd highly recommend this product. 

henapple

Man, that's a nice looking table.

Notarj1

I have to admit I used the Cabots Australian Timber Teak (Honey Teak) and it came out looking fantastic.
Highly recommend using this product.
Thank you for sharing.