Waterproofing a vase

[Bernie Kopfer]

I would like to know if anyone has a successful technique for waterproofing the inside of a wood vase. Want to use vase for cut flowers. Could the same materials be used to make wood pots Safe to grow things in?

[Doug Garson]

Haven't done it but I bet coating it with epoxy resin would work.

[Tom Rollins]

I have always made vases to hold glass inserts. No special wood treatment required and the insert can be cleaned in the dishwasher.

[Bernie Kopfer]

I have always made vases to hold glass inserts. No special wood treatment required and the insert can be cleaned in the dishwasher.

That is what is usually done. But I was hoping someone had a technique/material that allowed for water contact with wood. But now that I think about it, I think they are called “boats”. What do wooden boat people use to protect the wood that is underwater?

[Melvin Feng]

That is what is usually done. But I was hoping someone had a technique/material that allowed for water contact with wood. But now that I think about it, I think they are called “boats”. What do wooden boat people use to protect the wood that is underwater?

I believe it is very common for boat makers to use fiberglass reinforced epoxy. The epoxy I use in my woodworking is actually from a company called "Total Boat". I believe they started making their resins for boatmakers, and then woodworkers became interested in their products, as they now market towards woodworkers as well (there are 20% off coupons all over the place, so if you decide to buy from them, look around first. If you need it quickly, you can find it on Amazon). You won't need to do the fiberglass part, as that is more for structural reinforcement.

I've been very happy with the epoxy I've received from Total Boat. I typically get their more expensive High Performance Epoxy, and I use it often for filling in cracks, adding silica to use it as an adhesive, as well as a finish on some turnings to see how it would look - it looked great when I didn't make a mistake!

I also just bought their penetrating epoxy for the times that I need to stabilize sections of projects. I may also get their cheaper table top epoxy for the times I just need more of a cheap bulk fill of an area to level things out and don't want to waste the high performance epoxy.

[Alex Zeller]

I made a large wooden bowl to hold beer in ice a couple years ago. I just used West Marine epoxy but I did use fiberglass because I was worried about the temperature differences because of the ice. I probably didn't need to and it's held up just fine. I have made a couple vases with both glass and plexiglass inserts. The plexiglass was a little more work but it allows you to make it almost any size you want. I just used a tube and made a plexi plug for the bottom. If you're careful you can heat up the plexi and mold it around the top of the iside of the vase.

[Brice Rogers]

IMHO, the no-brainer is to go on ebay and buy a test tusbe that is the right size diameter and length for your vase. Also, occasionally I run across a plastic bottle or container that could have a secondary use.

If you put in a test tube, consider putting in something sticky or perhaps a piece of plasticine clay to hold the test tube in place. I've had people look at an empty vase that I made and turn it upside down...and the test tube falls out.

I think that the risk of using an epoxy is that if the piece continues to dry and possibly eventually cracks that you will get water intrusion ... and you begin the downward spiral.

[Ted Baxter]

There are videos of people turning sink's on youtube and sealing them do a search for videos on Carl Jackobson's channel there are others as well. Looks pretty stright foward just need good products.