What finish to use????

shinnlinger · October 07, 2012, 05:39:03 PM

Hi,

Made this for my neighbor today (thats him) out of hunks of one of my old barns

and he was seriously talking about painting or staining it until I made him pressure wash it and his wife told him no. That said, the posts will be exposed to the weather and what should he put on it? I was thinking 50/50 melted parafin and turpentine but he isn't a real homebrew kinda guy. He might go for a boiled linseed or tung oil but what other clear finishes would you recommend?

Thanks

Dave

beenthere · October 07, 2012, 05:48:33 PM

And the wood is what species?

The Thompsons Water seal will give the wood some repellancy to water. No preservative in it tho.

Exposed to the weather, it likely won't hold up well as the water will get into the joints, as well as at the floor connection.

What will be on it for a roof? Four foot overhang? That would help. ;)

shinnlinger · October 07, 2012, 05:56:45 PM

The wood is 150 years old. Some is hemlock some is pine or spruce. There will be a foot or so overhang. I heard thompsons wasn't very good but water repellence is the prime objective as bugs aren't much or a problem up here in NH.

beenthere · October 07, 2012, 07:04:43 PM

Treat not so much for bugs, but for decay. Need some sort of preservative, not an insecticide. In the old days, penta was good. But the do-gooders spread the fear and now it is banned. Some formulations have mildewcide in them, and there are some with borates that may help.
The enemy is rain exposure, and a little overhang doesn't help that.

The Thompsons Water Seal is close to the paraffin wax and turp formula you mentioned.

How do you mix the paraffin wax with turpentine?

shinnlinger · October 07, 2012, 08:27:37 PM

What I used to do was whip up a double boiler of some sort (soup can in a #10 can of water on a turkey fryer) and melt paraffin and then mix it 50/50 with turpentine if I was feeling rich or diesel fuel if I wasn't Kerosene might have made its way in a batch as well and I don't see why paint thinner wouldn't work. I liked it and it held up well.

Dave

Jim_Rogers · October 08, 2012, 09:23:11 AM

The only thing I can tell you is what the old painter told me they used years and years ago on wooden ladders.
That was a 50/50 mix of boiled linseed oil and turpentine. If the wood is dry it will soak this stuff right up and it should help it last a long time.

Jim Rogers