Protect any wood from a little water?

[Aaron Beaver]

Can you protect any wood from a little water? I am planning on making a potting table and the plans call for wood that would do good outside, redwood, some types of pine.

My question is can you protect any wood to make it withstand a little water, right now this isn't going outside but could get a little wet from watering or just dirty from soil. I am not sure of the exact type of wood I will use because I may use some I have or find a deal on other types if I can protect it well enough.

Thanks

[Bill Grumbine]

Aaron, I think the answer is yes, you can. We have a towel rack in our bathroom made from wormy red maple and walnut. It has been there for close to four years now, with wet towels hung on it to dry every day. I am not talking about hand towels, I am talking bath towels used by teenagers who seem to think that hot water is free and cleanliness really is next to godliness. Of course, us adults use it frequently as well, but the point is, the thing is exposed to dampness in the form of wet towels every day. So far the finish has not shown any signs of deteriorating.

I used Bartley's Gel Varnish to finish it off. It is a polyurethane finish, but it goes on nice in that it is easy to build a satin sheen without that hard plastic look for which polyurethane is so famous. I think I have three coats on this thing, and you might want more for liquid protection, but I would go for it.

Good luck with it!

Bill

[Steve Schoene]

Bill's solution works--at least as long as it stays inside. Any varnish will protect against varnish, though as a potting bench it will likely get dinged up pretty quickly because of the coarse bottoms on ceramic pots. The real problem is keeping it waterproof after the inevitable dings. The second problem comes when you move it outdoors. Most varnishes just aren't up to the task of fending off UV from the sun.

So I'd approach this in steps. First, I would use a penetrating epoxy--such as made by Smith & Co. (Jamestown Distributors is a source.) A couple of coats of this will sink in and block water pretty well. It won't handle the sun at all, so it needs to be overcoated. I would anticipate eventual outdoor use and put on a couple of coats of a marine spar varnish (Interux Schooner, Pettitt Captain's, or Epifanes Gloss) Don't try to build a lot of varnish because it will just get messed up. Thus you need to anticipate constant need to put on fresh varnish to patch up dings and scrapes.

Personally, I would choose a good outdoor wood--teak, ipe,
the heart wood of white oak (not red oak) or even walnut or honduran mahogany, and just let it stain, discolor and turn grey. (I'm not aware of pine that fits the outdoor requirement unless pressure treated.) You are making a workbench, and trying to also keep it look pristine is going to be a major challenge.

[Aaron Beaver]

Personally, I would choose a good outdoor wood--teak, ipe,
the heart wood of white oak (not red oak) or even walnut or honduran mahogany, and just let it stain, discolor and turn grey. (I'm not aware of pine that fits the outdoor requirement unless pressure treated.) You are making a workbench, and trying to also keep it look pristine is going to be a major challenge.

Any sources you know off for Redwood, that's originally what the plans call for but I haven't had much luck in locating it.

Thanks for the tips and you are right it could eventually end up outside or may even stay there if the weather is nice enough sometimes.