Finishing timber in wet areas (ie. bathrooms)

[Ashley]

I would be interested if anyone has experience in finishes used on timber in bathrooms.

One bathroom I am building is semi-outdoors, and I am using a Marine Grade Varnish by Bondall called Monocell Gold (satin finish) for "marine and harsh enivronments". It is also claimed to be UV resistant. It is basically a 'spar varnish'.
Some of the timberwork (jarrah) is adjacent to the shower, and to provide additional protection to this product, I am contemplating buffing a wax type product over the top of the varnish. I suspect that beeswax polishes would probably not cope too well, and was actually contemplating a canuba wax type product - as a test, I have rubbed some Kitten car polish onto some scrap I coated with Monocell Gold, and it does not so far appear to have caused any visible damage to the Monocell Gold coating. The car polish is said to contain "canuba wax and silicone polishes"(I realize silicone & timber is a big 'no no', but it was the only polish I had handy at the time and it is only a test!). Any thoughts about this apporoach, or am I just going overboard?

My second query is in relation to another bathroom that I will be starting in the near future. The house has a 'marine feel' and I want to use Sikaflec 290DC to create a 'caulked deck' appearance. I am open to the choice of timber, however I would prefer to use cyprus (the rest of the house has cyprus flooring with a tung oil finish) - realising of course that boat decking is usually teak. My main concern is what coating should I use on the floor? I believe that some oil type finishes can become quite slippery when wet (even ones specifically for marine use), and may become 'dirty' fairly quickly, however I am loathe to use a hard coating eg, polyurethane (single or two-pack) as I suspect that they will tend to crack where they cover any of the Sikaflex 290DC, and therefore cause the coat to fail. I have used tung oil in the rest of the house mainly because living in Darwin, the rate of expansion and contraction of timber is phenominal. Again, any suggestions??

Thanks & regards,

Ashley

[Neil]

Leave the wax out of the equation. With time they will all spot and mark in a wet area, and although they are reasonably easy to fix that is the last thing a home owner wants to be continually doing.

What ever you do leave the stuff with the silicone right out of it. Remember, if the finish is damaged you will most likely be the one who is called on to repair it. Not a job I'ld like to do.

If you really must you could probably use something like our EEE-Ultra Shine to lightly cut the final finish but then buff off the remaining wax.

I know a couple of cabinet makers that have used the flo pack epoxies for their wet area benches, sinks, etc. with great results.

Hope this helps. Lose the wax.

Cheers - Neil

[Shane Watson]

Hmmm I have seen some nasty effects of timber in wet areas. I gotta agree, wax will do no good.

All the jobs & repairs I have encountered in wet areas were finished using 2-pack polyuethanes or 2-pack automotive lacquers. The substrate being either timber or MDF. To date I have had no report of damage from moisture or movement etc, at all actually. Now because I used these, I do go against the norm and use automotive polishes to rub out the final coat. This is somthing I don't recommend unless you are prepared for the consequences which may not appear for sometime ( nasty silicon ). Like I said, to date I have had no problems and this goes back over 8yrs. But they do give the finish a more water repelling surface for a time.
Really the problem is not so much on the tops, the problems usually arise from lack of proper sealing of the timber underneath and more so around the edge where the sink cutout is made. I have seen so many vanity & kitchen bench tops ruined because the cabinetmaker failed to apply a finish around the edge grain in the sink cutout. Water gets splashed out of the sink and runs under the sink and down the internal edge and gets soaked straight into the grain. Boy have I seen some major damage caused from this. And of course once moisture gets in the timber its not long before it rises to the surface and then starts lifting the finish, turning black, white etc etc etc. Problems problems problems. So what ever you do, make sure you finish the entire thing, all surfaces. Most important!
I don't have any knowledge of marine finishes. But it might be advisable to contact a Boat Builder and talk with them explaining what you want to do and achieve, if you still prefer to travel down the marine varnish road.
Sounds like your working on some nice projects. I hope it all goes well for you!

Cheers

HTH




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Shane Watson..

Combine Love & Skill & You Can Expect A Masterpiece!

[AlexS]

There seems to be almost universal agreement that silicon is BAAAD in most circumstances. What is the reason for this?

[Jeff]

I live in the states and have had excellant success in bathrooms, mine included, with newer water-base polyurethane clearcoat finishes. These are very friendly to work with, are tough enough for floors, and keep the water rolling off for years. Touch-up has not been needed. If these type products are available to you I suggest you check them out. Incidentally I live in a marine environment on an island, and see and do a lot of work on boats as well. Unless you are looking at using the finish to seal up a wooden tub or such, these products are much preferred to varnishes, as the toxicity is almost nil and they are so much easier to work with. Your wood may have compatibility problems with whatever finish you try, so MAKE TEST RUNS with your selected materials before you do the whole job! In response to WHY IS SILICONE BAAAD, that is because once it is in your wood it will not come off, and nothing else will go on, and it will allow water to leak into the wood at the edges of the silicone where the selected finish will not stick. Which brings up another point, if you seal up your wood all around (all surfaces of every board) with varnish you run the risk of rot. The water base finishes are a lot more forgiving of moisture in the wood at the time of application. Short of this, Sikkens is a very, very good product with a great look. I concur with the above advice to ask the local shipyards what is available and reliable, but by all means check out the water-base polurethane finishes. Good luck!