Wood Paneling to Seal or Not to Seal

[On Belay]

Wondering what people thoughts are on a sealant for cedar paneling in a van. Condensation and moisture are an unavoidable reality in a van. Is it better to try to seal the wood with a plyurethane or leave it untreated and use an oil and wax? Cedar is naturally resistant to rot and mildew so my thought is the oil and wax option may be the better option. Rather than fighting nature let the cedar absord and dry naturally versus a sealant that inevitaly breaks down and potentially seals in moisture. I also don't want to be replacing all the paneling in a year...

Any expert opinions from the group?

 

[eporter]

Oil would be nice on Cedar. Cedar is softer, so might get beat up in spots without a strong top coat. It might smell less if you seal it w/ poly. Wood will expand/contract regardless, but the tongue and groove should help. Here's a cool cedar van interior build:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Cedar-paneling-for-van-interior/

 

[teddrover]

Another van builder recommended tung oil. we found some on amazon with a citrus solvent as the penetrating agent.
https://www.amazon.com/Half-32oz/dp...&sr=1-1&keywords=tung+oil+with+citrus+solvent

 

[Bbasso]

I always thought Cedarwood was a natural anti moisture, anti-mold, anti-everything wood and didn't need any Coatings... But I could be wrong.

 

[Sheep Shagger]

Cedar stinks. As a woodworker I would not use anything other than an oil or wax on cedar. but in a van, I'd be inclined to use a poly simply to reduce the smell. I'd actually never use it in a van because of the smell, depending on the quality, thickness and amount of the wood paneling, the smell will be there for 10 years in such a small unventilated space.