Exterior door q's and progress pic

[Brad Hammond]

hey all.

got some rafters up this week and most of the porch beams and joists up as well. here's a pic of the progress.

i got a question about my exterior door. we've ordered a mission series hemlock door from jeldwen and i wanted to run my ideas by you regarding the finish.

i plan on using a spar varnish for the finish, but my question is. can i oil it with either blo or tung oil before the varnish? i've done this before on other projects, and had good results, but these were minor exposure projects, and NOT my front door. :) do you all have any other suggestions for any other marine varnishes that you've used with good results? keep in mind that this is a south facing door but it's got 8 ft of porch protecting it a little.

thanx all!
brad

[Kent Parker]

Brad,

Having owned four wood boats in the past 35 years keeping exterior wood varnished has been an ongoing part of my life and challenge. A favorite "formula" is to seal any bare wood with multiple coats of penetrating epoxy sealer. This is a two part sealer that goes on like water (its thin) and really helps to penetrate and in turn stabilize the wood. Typically 3 to 4 coats. Depending on the temperature during your application you can brush on two coats right after another. Any more at the same time and it becomes a bit gummy to sand.
If you go this route, wear a respirator and work outdoors.

I stripped and varnished the masts of my last boat with the penetrating sealer and then six coats of varnish (Epifanes) and a year later (exposed to weather and sun) it was still glossy. There are a lot of very good marine varnishes; Interlux, Z-Spar, McKlosky.

Don't discount the exterior water based poly's. I coated a new white oak sile at the entrance to our front door with the stuff. Its harder than varnish and is really holding up well.

KP

[Mark Singer]

Sikkens....good stuff


http://www.nam.sikkens.com/index-english.cfm

[Brad Hammond]

thanx guys!! great advice!
brad