Sealing wood

[Karl Card]

Has anyone ever used paint to seal wood with? Right now I do not have a cash flow but I have plenty of paint and have had a few people say that they would at least use some paint before nothing at all. I can get miss matched paint at BORG for 5 bucks a gallon.

[David E Keller]

I don't think it's as good as the commercial sealers, but I do think it's better than nothing. I'd give it two heavy coats of latex paint.

[robert raess]

I have used[and still do] commercial sealers.They are a wax emulsion.I have had mixed results and have lost some nice burls, after putting two coats on.I too tried to make my own 'witches brew' using:latex paint,tung oil varnish,sikkens stain and water based glue, and mixed it into an emulsion.So far the pc.'s that have not cracked have been my own special brew.By the way this brew dried faster[hrs.] than i hoped.The only downside is the paint obscures the grain for quick i.d. of a pc. i may want to use.I have not used anchorseal, and will use that next.The comm. stuff i have i bought from woodcraft or craft supplies.

[Greg Just]

I agree with David that paint is better than nothing

[Steve Schlumpf]

Karl - I first started out using some leftover latex paint. I put on a couple of coats but when the water-based paint dried, so did the wood underneath it and it started checking. I have since moved over to using anchorseal and it does the job as long as the wood is not stored in direct sun. Remember that anything you use only slows down the drying process - the wood is still losing moisture - so plan on roughing your forms as soon as possible and you'll be fine.

[Jim Burr]

Glad you brought that up Karl! Good results have been had using latex paint. Many BORG's have stuff that customers didn't pick up. You can grab a gallon for $5. Slap a couple coats on the end grain and your in business. Another good solution is to use plastic food wrap. I have no less than 10 good quality blanks in the cabinet in a heavy wrap of the stuff. 12"x2800' is $12 and bulk food places...not a crack or check in one of them. BUT...they will mold on the surface. Happy to send pics if there is doubt.

[Prashun Patel]

Do you have any old candles? You can melt them down in mineral spirits to make an emulsion that works very well. The consistency isn't critical, but it should be 'paintable' at room temp with a brush. At least, this has worked extremely well for me.

[Quinn McCarthy]

I just use yellow wood glue. That is pretty cheap.

Just straight from the bottle.

Quinn

[Karl Card]

As soon as the money gets better i dont mind investing a little money into this but for now things are very tight. I have ability to store the wood directly away from the sun and still get good air flow around the wood. I do appreciate the other thoughts and what else others have used. Back in the day I always had candles hanging around that I got for cheap but have none at the moment. Something that I have always wondered about sealing wood is that when a piece of wood is sealed 100 percent doesnt that kind of make it a lifetime to finally dry? I have received some bowl blanks in the past that were waxed 100 percent and I feel like that is should keep it from checking but how much longer does it take to dry or am I reading into this way to much...

[Russell Neyman]

Ordinary, everyday paraffin wax -- sold in the supermarket really cheap -- is the best possible end grain sealer. But, in a pinch, use the latex. Just check the blank often and re-coat any checks before they get bad.

[Karl Card]

Not sure how this fares with other techniques as far as price goes but I signed up for hobby lobby to get emails from them and in return got a coupon worth 40 percent off for one item. So I took and bought a 10 lb piece of paraffin that was regularly 17.99 and got it for a little over 11 dollars with tax.

[Michael James]

I don't know what I'm talking about but I assume waxed pieces will remain green until you're ready to turn em. Realistically, how many decades to plan on stashing wood? :D
Just tryin to help in NM,
mj


As soon as the money gets better i dont mind investing a little money into this but for now things are very tight. I have ability to store the wood directly away from the sun and still get good air flow around the wood. I do appreciate the other thoughts and what else others have used. Back in the day I always had candles hanging around that I got for cheap but have none at the moment. Something that I have always wondered about sealing wood is that when a piece of wood is sealed 100 percent doesnt that kind of make it a lifetime to finally dry? I have received some bowl blanks in the past that were waxed 100 percent and I feel like that is should keep it from checking but how much longer does it take to dry or am I reading into this way to much...

[Bernie Weishapl]

I used latex paint the first two years I turned as I couldn't afford tools and anchorseal. I still have some sticks that I painted back then and still haven't cracked.

[David E Keller]

One thing to keep in mind... Heavy wax coatings can lift away from the wood surface which may cause you to lose the protective effect. I'm told that products like anchorseal allow some movement of moisture which keeps them from lifting away.

[Reed Gray]

I have used the end sealers. I have also used old oil finishes that people have given me that are old and sticky, or may never use anyway left over Thompson's Water seal, wood glue, even met one guy who uses liquid nails. Silicone caulking would work also. Just about anything to seal the end grain and keep drying rates down.

robo hippy

[Karl Card]

I don't know what I'm talking about but I assume waxed pieces will remain green until you're ready to turn em. Realistically, how many decades to plan on stashing wood? :D
Just tryin to help in NM,
mj

Basically what a person is trying to do is to SLOW down the rate at which moisture leaves the wood. Some woods are very very prone to cracking and only a full sealed coating will keep the wood from drying to fast and checking. Yes a fully sealed piece of wood dries slower but it does still dry. Most woods suffice with just a sealer on each end or where it has been cut.