waterproof finish ?

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nwcatman

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i made a set of coasters out of mesquite yesterday and used as a finish carnauba wax applied on a buffing wheel (bealls system). finish looks great but when a glass sweats onto the coaster (the humidity is unreal here) the mesquite turns a lighter shade and there is no wax left (i guess) on the coaster. i'd rather not put an acrylic finish on em in order tp preserve the look of the wood but............if i have to i guess i have to. any suggestions? thanks
 
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I made an ice cream bowl out of mesquite and did a full CA finish. It looked WONDERFUL and did not let any moisture through. When I washed it in the sink the water would bead up and not penetrate at all. Kinda hard to do on a larger object but once done, it works great.
 
Waxes alone will not do it. Water borne finishes and shellacs that are can be thinned by denatured alcohol also can cause problems. One and two coats of Poly or lacquers can result in the same.

Several good or thick coats of finish are generally needed. I have a small "book" stand next to my easy chair that I made 20 years ago. The top is made of walnut from a tree that I played under as a kid. In 20 years of using with hot and cold drinks, lots of sweating and water rings on the surface, there is not a single place that shows a water spot.

I put a liberal coat of "real" tung oil, let it sit for 24 hours, another coat for 24 hours, wiped off and let it cure for several day, and then three coats of polyurethane over three days with sanding between coats. It is still polished today and totally waterproof.

The above is overkill for coasters, but you could consider putting coasters in a pressure pot with a stabilizer material (or even polyurethane) if you don't have the time or patience to put the (generally long) time needed for a good water prevention finish.

OTHER considerations: Clear marine grade paints and epoxies.

IF you want the "wood" look without the shiny of gloss, then you can use 0000 steel wool over the gloss to cut it down and then wax on top of that. The tactile finish will appear/feel to be fine waxed finish. I have done that many times and some so called experts say that they love the hand waxed finish of some of the things I have made.
 
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Here are a few suggestions:

1) Waterlox-- a tung-oil based varnish that does exactly what it's name implies. Cost a lot, but a very, very nice product. Hard to find in "local" stores but easy to find online. Dries slow. Two coats should do you very well. USE SATIN if you don't want it to look plasticky.

2) Spar varnish--- will achieve similar results as the Waterlox, but darker in color (which would look just fine on mesquite). Easy to find: Lowes, Home depot, and can also be bought in aerosol cans. We use the aerosol cans at work for little onesies and twosies. Dries slow, but again, two coats should do you fine, and again, use satin to avoid the shiney plastic look.

3) Precatalyzed lacquer---- Mohawk sells a very nice precat that, if you can find it (Klingspor sells it where I am) it is a good finish. Dries very fast (sandable in 30 minutes normally), but will require 3-4 coats and is a touch less water resistant than the above two. I love precat lacquer. I spray a post-cat version on my pens and absolutely love it.



There are lots of other waterproof (or resistant) finishes out there, like 2-component polyurethanes, gelcoats, and epoxy resins, but the exorbitant cost makes them pointless overkill for most of what we do.
 
redfishsc said:
Here are a few suggestions:

1) Waterlox-- a tung-oil based varnish that does exactly what it's name implies. Cost a lot, but a very, very nice product. Hard to find in "local" stores but easy to find online. Dries slow. Two coats should do you very well. USE SATIN if you don't want it to look plasticky.

2) Spar varnish--- will achieve similar results as the Waterlox, but darker in color (which would look just fine on mesquite). Easy to find: Lowes, Home depot, and can also be bought in aerosol cans. We use the aerosol cans at work for little onesies and twosies. Dries slow, but again, two coats should do you fine, and again, use satin to avoid the shiney plastic look.

3) Precatalyzed lacquer---- Mohawk sells a very nice precat that, if you can find it (Klingspor sells it where I am) it is a good finish. Dries very fast (sandable in 30 minutes normally), but will require 3-4 coats and is a touch less water resistant than the above two. I love precat lacquer. I spray a post-cat version on my pens and absolutely love it.



There are lots of other waterproof (or resistant) finishes out there, like 2-component polyurethanes, gelcoats, and epoxy resins, but the exorbitant cost makes them pointless overkill for most of what we do.
Click to expand...

Now why didn't you post this before I did mine? I would have saved me some time! :biggrin:
 
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