Latex paint to prevent checking?

[Bill Wiggins]

I just cut some logs into blank-length pieces. I roughed out a few of them and put tenons on the ends. I'm a low budget operation and I saw on the Creek that latex paint can be used to prevent checking.

On the blanks that I've roughed out, should I paint the entire piece, or just the ends. How long should I let it dry before turning it? I live in Massachusetts, so the climate is not extremely hot and dry this time of year.

How successful is latex paint for preventing checking?

[Dan Hintz]

Some claim success... but keep in mind that Latex is designed to allow moisture through, and likely at a rate much faster than a typical wax emulsion (e.g., original-formula AnchorSeal). If the coated wood is pretty stable to begin with, this isnt a problem, but for more reactive woods, you'll want to slow down evap as much as possible. I would compare latex paint to the new-formula AnchorSeal (which sucks).

[Jack Mincey]

I saw out blanks for my students and place them in a large garbage bag with the wet shavings on top of them. The shavings one gets when using a chain saw to cut the blanks out of the log are perfect for this. If you keep the bag closed the blanks can be keep for a month or two before turning. They will get some mold growing on them after a while, but it turns off quickly and is wet enough that it doesn't really become a problem in the air. If you forget about the blanks for say 6 months they will become spalted and very moldy. One of the nicest bowls I ever turned came from forgetting a blank stored like this. Its hard to beat the price I pay for this method since the school custodian gives me the garbage bags.
Happy turning,
Jack Mincey

[Dennis Ford]

I have tried latex paint, it does slow down drying but not as much as Anchorseal does. If we are talking about rough-turned bowls that are about as thick as 10% of the diameter; it may work pretty well. I would coat the entire rough-out.

[Wally Dickerman]

You have some wood that you want to protect from cracking, right? It's mid summer, hot and dry, right? Then why not go with a product that is best suited for the job. Latex paint isn't the best. Anchorseal is a product that was designed to partially seal the wood to prevent cracking and to allow it to dry slowly.

Some dealers have wood sealer under their own name. You'd be surprised at how much wood an inexpensive quart will seal.

[Chris Barnett]

It did not work for me on spalted hackberry or maple. Bought a 5 gallon can of Anchorseal which worked well, and never looked back. Aw nuts...they changed Anchorseal?????

[Dan Hintz]

Aw nuts...they changed Anchorseal?????
About a year or so ago... what you can purchase in the stores is the new formula. You have to go straight to CC Coatings to get the original formula, but the good news is they still sell it.

[Bill Luce]

I too have had poor luck with latex paint. Plus with some woods like certain elms, it gets sucked far into the endgrain and 1) takes a long time to dry so can make a mess 2) requires more wood to be removed than I prefer.

[Chris Burgess]

I have only used it on 2 types of wood. Pecan (success) Elm (DISASTER) i now use Ancorseal and have had some checking on my new Oak Burl so I double and triple coated it and seems to have stopped it. I think a lot of that is due to the dought we are in the midle of. Once I polish this current gallon off I am going to order a 5 gallon from CC Coatings. A little goes a long way and is well worth the money when you consider how much time and effort you pul into prepping the wood. Good Luck!

[Chris Barnett]

Thanks Dan...think I will go ahead and order another 5 before they change it too! Maybe with the price of oil down they will rescind the last price increase that was caused by the oil price increase....naw...just wishin'.

[Jamie Buxton]

Another wood sealant is a roofing product called Asphalt Emulsion. It is asphalt in a water emulsion. It has the texture of sour cream or so. You slather it on roofs or wood or anything. When the water evaporates, it leaves a completely waterproof barrier. It is intended to stick to wet roofs -- that's when you notice you have a leak -- and it sticks quite well to wet wood. Henry is a brand that's available in every building yard around here. A gallon is $5 or so. http://www.homedepot.com/buy/henry/1-gallon-107-asphalt-emulsion-20747.html

[Marty Eargle]

Wouldn't the asphalt eat the edge right off your tools turning it away? Certainly a fairly cheap alternative if you don't mind cutting it off before you mount for turning.

[Bernie Weishapl]

I have used latex paint with pretty good success when I first started turning and no money. The scalloped vase are from Elm where I used two coats of latex 4 yrs ago and they were still good. Now I still would get some anchorseal as it does work the best.

[Donny Lawson]

Another wood sealant is a roofing product called Asphalt Emulsion. It is asphalt in a water emulsion. It has the texture of sour cream or so. You slather it on roofs or wood or anything. When the water evaporates, it leaves a completely waterproof barrier. It is intended to stick to wet roofs -- that's when you notice you have a leak -- and it sticks quite well to wet wood. Henry is a brand that's available in every building yard around here. A gallon is $5 or so. http://www.homedepot.com/buy/henry/1-gallon-107-asphalt-emulsion-20747.html

I will have to give this a try since the Anchorseal I'm using isn't doing the job.

[Bill Wiggins]

My Latex Paint experiment failed. Or more accurately, the latex paint failed to prevent checking. I completely covered my roughed out blanks with latex paint. And three days later, two of them have large cracks. Granted, I waited two weeks from when the wood was cut, and one week from when the blanks were turned. But, it seems like it's not a great solution for me.

I will try one more experiment, by putting the paint on the end of the limbs that were cut and leave the bark. I will wait to turn the blanks for two months. But I guess Anchorseal is on my list for the next batch of supplies.

[Paul Heely]

How are you storing your rough outs after sealing them? I don't seal anything, but do put my rough outs in cardboard boxes with the flaps closed for a few weeks, then open one flap a little to allow some air flow. If I understand what causes cracking and checking it's uneven drying. Maybe storing them differently would help. Just a thought.

Paul

[Don Stephan]

My understanding is that drying creates internal stress that doesn't immediately produce cracks - nothing happens until the stress reaches sufficient power to produce a crack. It's possible your latex paint did slow drying but from the two prior weeks there were sufficient internal stress that just a smidge further slowed drying through the latex was enough for the wood to fail and the crack to open. Heard from a friend that had a log house built that the first winter he sudeenly heard gunshots until he realized it was cracks opening in the dried logs. No cracks formed for 5 months, until into heating season.

[Donny Lawson]

I will stop by and check this out. It has to be better than what I have now.

[Bill Wiggins]

Paul . . . I left the roughed out, painted blanks on my workbench in my garage. I probably should have put it in a paper bag with the shavings, as was suggested on the Creek. Perhaps it was due to my waiting two weeks before applying the paint. I'll get some Anchorseal or some wax during my next trip to the store, but I'll keep experimenting with the latex paint. I've got lots of partial gallons that will be thrown away if I can't find a use for them. I hope I can find a process that works. My next attempt will be as follows:

Get fresh cut limbs
Immediately do the following

Cut it into sections
Paint the ends (three coats) on some of them, leave the bark, label the date and weight
Rough out some blanks with tenons, paint the entire blank (three coats), label the date and weight
Store the blanks in a paper bag with shavings
Wait two months
Check weights of limbs and roughed out blanks, take notes
Turn something wonderful

[Prashun Patel]

I make my own wax emulsion with mineral spirits. Just melt enough so it remains paintable at room temp. The real key is removing the pith, and storing it in a cool, place with minimal air flow. Basement floor is the best for me.

This being said, I've had a devil of a time drying fresh cut oak, so YMMV with diferent species