Comments on: 46 – Desert Outdoor Finish

By: thewoodwhisperer

thewoodwhisperer — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 20:21:18 +0000

Hey Bryan. When in doubt, try to keep things as simple as possible. No reason to use oil on this project since pure oil offers very little protection outdoors. I actually like the FWW recommendation. CPES is an incredibly cool product as it absorbs into the grain and makes the wood impenetrable to moisture. If you’re real generous with this stuff around the end grain, you’ll be even better off. Once the epoxy dries, you can begin coating with Epifanes. This will be a very thick protective finish, similar to what you might see on a boat hand rail. The color effect is similar to a standard oil-based finish, bringing a nice amber tone to the wood.

Now you can also use something like waterlox, but I wouldn’t bother if the ultimate goal is to use Epifanes.

By: Bryan in NJ

Bryan in NJ — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 18:57:25 +0000

Marc, Happy New Year! I’m in the planning stages of building a mailbox stand with Greene & Greene details -based on a more basic arts & crafts design. The box portion of the stand will be hard maple and I haven’t decided on what wood I will use for the bottom. Ideally, Ipe or cedar, but I’ll probably settle on Oak or walnut to keep the costs down. Anyway, I want the natural wood colors and grain to show, so I’ve been researching boat finishes because I want something that looks great, yet is lower maintenance than deck finish, particulary for the NJ climate. So what experience do you have with epoxy sealer as a primer? FWW has a great article touting the combination of MultiWoodPrime (epoxy sealer) by Smith & Company and Epiphanes; the article is called “A Durable Exterior Finish” (Sept./Oct 2005). Since these finishes are more on the expensive side, I want to know what to expect before I spend money. What kind of wood color changes can I expect with the epoxy sealer? If my aim is to get a tung oil color, how would the epoxy affect the aborption of something like Waterlox or should Waterlox be applied first? Or perhaps pure tung oil, then epoxy, then Epiphanes. How much maintenance should I expect once the project is installed? Obviously, this is confusing me, so I appreciate your help. Thanks, brother!

-Bryan

By: thewoodwhisperer

thewoodwhisperer — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 19:34:08 +0000

Hey Ann. I honestly don?t know that I am the best person to address this question. I specialize in small furniture and I pretty much extended that knowledge to an exterior door for this video, which is not all that different than an outdoor chair. But that?s about where my experience ends when it comes to outdoor structures. When you?re talking about large scale things like decks and pavilions, the game changes because the things I normally do are no longer practical or cost effective. Someone who deals in decking or even a general contractor might be in a better position to give you solid advice. Sorry I couldn?t be more help.

By: Ann

Ann — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 18:28:58 +0000

We are planning to build a pavilion in the Chihuahua Desert area using Southern Yellow Pine for the decking. There will be a metal roof covering it with a 2′ overhang in each direction. The ground banks up several feet in the south and west and is unlikely to take any direct sun. Can you give us advise on precautions we should take or if we should abandon the idea of wood altogether – be fore we sign on the dotted line for this.

Thankyou for any advise you can offer.

By: thewoodwhisperer

thewoodwhisperer — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 16:07:34 +0000

Well, you should wait until it is dry. Apply the coats thin, wiping off the excess, and they should dry within 24 hrs. The key is thin coats though. And I would say you can give it a light sanding after the second coat if you feel the surface and it has some dust nibs.

By: Mike Corwin

Mike Corwin — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 04:22:35 +0000

Hey Marc – I just made an outdoor bench from reclaimed doug fir. I planed, sanded and applied the three part finish today and was wondering how long you wait between recoating. Also, are you sanding between coats? Thanks very much for the help.

By: thewoodwhisperer

thewoodwhisperer — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 22:18:23 +0000

As far as I know, Transtint doesn’t list oils as being compatible. You might have some issues there.

By: Mike Corwin

Mike Corwin — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 21:09:30 +0000

Cool, thanks. Ever add any Trans Tint concentrate into this 3 part blend? Any issues you could see with doing that?

By: thewoodwhisperer

thewoodwhisperer — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 18:25:58 +0000

Mineral spirits will give you more working time than naptha. That’s about it.

By: Mike Corwin

Mike Corwin — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 17:47:05 +0000

Hey Marc – What is the difference between using minera spirits instead of naptha in the 3 part blend?