crystallised finish

[vinnie]

About 18 months ago I made a mail box from some old silky oak. The timber looked to good to paint over so I decided to finish it with marine varnish. The sides are still in excellent condition but the top has crystallised, hard loose and flakey. The finish used was Feast watsons Spar Varnish. It can't be wet weather because rain is a naughty 4 letter word here.As I am about to try and get it looking good again can I ask what has gone wrong and what would you suggest as a finish? vinnie

[Auld Bassoon]

Hi Vinnie,

Has the box been in direct sunlight, so causing an issue with U.V. perhaps?

[ozwinner]

Hi Vinnie,

Has the box been in direct sunlight, so causing an issue with U.V. perhaps?

Steve.
Have a look on a map where vinnie is from.
I think you will answer your own question.
I looked. :eek:

Al

[Auld Bassoon]

Al,

I did, and TravelMate shows Jandowae - and absolutely nothing else... Right in the middle of freaking nowhere.

Must be those aliens that were freaking the cows: see
"If Jandowae - principal town of the Wambo Shire in Queensland’s Western Downs - has an identity problem, it’s scant wonder. The small town, in a diversified farming and cattle district, has had three 'official' names since the first settlers put down their roots in 1860. Originally endorsed as Jindowie, the Aboriginal name for waterhole, this was corrupted to Jondowaie when Jack Dowaie set up a rest camp for travellers. The adoption of the last surviving name coincided with the arrival of the railway in 1914. The jewel in this corner of the downs is Jimbour House, which the National Trust describes as 'probably the grandest of Queensland’s station homesteads.' Built in the early 1870s, this magnificent, two-storeyed sandstone and cedar home has been lovingly restored. Jandowae moved from the national heritage estate into rural mythology recently when the Aliens on Earth website identified the town at the centre of a Downs region where thousands of 'haunted' cows, spooked by UFOs, stampeded every morning in the spring of 1999"



Cheers!

[vinnie]

Sunshine we have plenty of,but the rest of the box also gets a lot. It is a possibility that I have not thought about and if so what's the answer. vinnie

[vinnie]

Steve most of the early settlers including my parents came from Victoria I don't know of any who returned. We have had an influx lately must be the offer of houseblocks for $1.00 sorry no refunds vinnie

[RufflyRustic]

Hi Vinnie, Welcome - nice to see another 'local' on the board.

Auld Bassoon - Jandowae isn't that far from Toowoomba. Does this mean Toowoomba is in the middle of nowhere too? Well, it does feel like it sometimes Pretty good history of the town - I never knew any of that



How's the box now after the last 2 nights of storms?

cheers
RufflyRustic

[reeves]

mm might have been hard sunlight....

maybe try oil, then some hard wax finsih, then if u really wanna some poly over that..with ultraviolet inhibitor....using oil, like tung based or linseed as a base keeps the wood moist and offers a nice seal..start with that and then layer it a bit...

cheeeeeeeers

[vinnie]

Hi Vinnie, Welcome - nice to see another 'local' on the board.

Auld Bassoon - Jandowae isn't that far from Toowoomba. Does this mean Toowoomba is in the middle of nowhere too? Well, it does feel like it sometimes Pretty good history of the town - I never knew any of that



How's the box now after the last 2 nights of storms?

cheers
RufflyRustic

Thankfully we have missed the storms, all to the south, maybe tomorrow as the headers are out working. vinnie

[Mike Jefferys.]

A "spar varnish" is usually code for a non-polyurethane varnish which again is code for applicable use in full sun. Spar varnishes set up relatively soft and have some flex on solid wood (the wood will be moving constantly under the varnish skin over a daily cycle) whereas poly's set up hard and don't much like UV. Should have been a good choice?? Suggestions - the varnish could have been very old - unfortuately there are no "use by" dates on cans of finish and they can be very old at purchase.

Mike Jefferys

[vinnie]

Thanks for the replys.I am trying the oil first as the timber is very dry,may have to keep my maintainance duties up though. I take my hat off to Auld Basson and Oz Winner for "thinking outside the square" and doing a bit of geography And history research.No doubt they and a lot of others learn't something.

vinnie