What finish to use?

[David Klug]

At our church in the restroom we have a divider between the sinks and the towel rack. On top of the divider they have a piece of redwood with a verathine finish that looks terrible. People use it for setting books, coffee cups or whatever they have in their hands on it. Water gets dripped on it when people reach for a paper towels. I've been thinking about stripping it and putting BLO on it, but I'm wondering about the end grain. Should it be sealed before I put it on the end grain or will it be ok to just put BLO on it. What I don't know is will the end grain darken more than the rest of the wood with out the sealer.

Would some other finish be better than BLO? What should I use for a sealer? ALL suggetions are welcome!!!!

DK

[Jim Becker]

Dave, the only good thing about BLO for this application is that it will bring out the wood grain and is easily renewable. But it offers NO real protection to the wood, especially from moisture. None. Nada. Did I happen to mention...none? ;)

The only truly durable thing you could put on the wood to keep it fresh is some form of resin and even that can look bad after a time if water gets under it. Baring that, a marine varnish or simlar coating will help to keep the wood protected for awhile, but it will also need to be renewed at some point...any moisture that gets under it will discolor the wood. Nature of the beast. And if the wood was closer to "other" fixtures, you'd also have the bleaching effect of ammonia to deal with!

[Chris Padilla]

Dave,

Jim is right on the BLO. It'll need a topcoat/film finish for protection. At least redwood is somewhat resistant to decay but....

A favorite finish of mine is a product called Velvit Oil. I am not entirely sure what it is but I think it's some kind of varnish/oil mixture or blend.

They claim on the can that all you need is this finish and you are done. So far, so good for me in using it. You might need to reapply it every 6 months but I bet it'll work for you.

[Wolf Kiessling]

At our church in the restroom we have a divider between the sinks and the towel rack. On top of the divider they have a piece of redwood with a verathine finish that looks terrible. People use it for setting books, coffee cups or whatever they have in their hands on it. Water gets dripped on it when people reach for a paper towels. I've been thinking about stripping it and putting BLO on it, but I'm wondering about the end grain. Should it be sealed before I put it on the end grain or will it be ok to just put BLO on it. What I don't know is will the end grain darken more than the rest of the wood with out the sealer.

Would some other finish be better than BLO? What should I use for a sealer? ALL suggetions are welcome!!!!

DK

I really hate disagreeing with others, David, but I don't think I would use Velvit Oil. It is a product I like very much, I use both the regular and quick dry versions, but only on turned items. I don't think it is very durable. Sorry Chris.

With that watery and abused environment you are talking about, I would use, and recommend, a good grade of spar varnish. This stuff is made for marine use and you can't hardly get anything more durable. I would probably use at least four coats.

[Chris Padilla]

Wolf,

You are free to disagree...no harm done. I did a little test last night on a portion of the EC that I finished with VO. I put a drop of water (just a drop) on the surface and watched for several minutes. No soak through...it just sat there in its beaded form. I have some evidence from other users that it works well on floors, too.

However, all that said, I think the spar varnish is a great idea. You can definately build up several layers of it unlike with a wiping varnish like VO (I'm pretty sure it could be classified as a wiping varnish according to Mr. Bob Flexner's book).

[David Klug]

Wolf,

You are free to disagree...no harm done. I did a little test last night on a portion of the EC that I finished with VO. I put a drop of water (just a drop) on the surface and watched for several minutes. No soak through...it just sat there in its beaded form. I have some evidence from other users that it works well on floors, too.

However, all that said, I think the spar varnish is a great idea. You can definately build up several layers of it unlike with a wiping varnish like VO (I'm pretty sure it could be classified as a wiping varnish according to Mr. Bob Flexner's book).


Good morning everyone, I knew that I could depend on you. I'll do some more checking but I think I'll go with the spar varnish. Thanks for the help.

DK

[Barbara Gill]

I really hate disagreeing with others, David, but I don't think I would use Velvit Oil. It is a product I like very much, I use both the regular and quick dry versions, but only on turned items. I don't think it is very durable. Sorry Chris.

With that watery and abused environment you are talking about, I would use, and recommend, a good grade of spar varnish. This stuff is made for marine use and you can't hardly get anything more durable. I would probably use at least four coats.

It is time for me to say something here.
Actually we have used Velvit Oil on our floors, woodwork, furniture in our house and the coffee bar (walnut and pine) at our store. The bar gets wiped off many times a day, liquids are spilled, and sometimes wet glasses are put on it. It still looks great; we reapply Velvit Oil about once a year. Since Velvit Oil is not a surface finish but a penetrating oil you do not have to worry about cracking, peeling or water getting under the finish. When you want to reapply, you just do it. No sanding or removing the old finish is needed.