Wood finish for egg table

Dirtdobber

I just finished building my egg table but I am not sure what I should use to seal/coat the wood. It is made of red cedar. My concern is will a spar urethane hold up with the heat from the egg? Or should I use a regular water seal like Thompsons?Any help will be much appreciated!

luckyboy

I used oil based miniwax clear on my cypress table, 3 coats.I wouldn't be concerned with the heat so much.

shucker

Spar urethane is about as good as you're gonna do and the heat won't bother it so long as you have clearance for air flow

mick7607

Forget Thompson's for anything. That stuff is made to sell, not use. We sold it for a few years at our paint store and had nothing but customer complaints. Minwax or Sikkens Spar is best for your table IMO.

XLBalco

i used marine zspar captains finish. came out great and is holding up very well.

berndcrisp

Tung oil.

Begger

Can you put Spar Urethane OVER Boiled Linseed Oil?  

mick7607

I don't see any problem putting oil based spar over boiled linseed oil ONLY if the linseed oil has completely dried and cured and you buff it first with 0000 steel wool.

RRP

mick7607 said:

Forget Thompson's for anything. That stuff is made to sell, not use. We sold it for a few years at our paint store and had nothing but customer complaints. Minwax or Sikkens Spar is best for your table IMO.

I agree! Thompson's is a joke or actually a well played fraud by some marketing genius! It is essentially just paraffin diluted so much as to become a liquid and sold at a horrendous mark up!

Begger

Mick:
Oil  /  Oil is what I was told.   So if the finish is oil based, you can put it OVER a BLO tint / finish and still be ok.  
How long to dry BLO?  like HOURS or DAYS or even longer?

mick7607

At least 24 hrs depending on temp & humidity. If the steel wool is gummy, too soon. If powdery, good to go. 48 hrs would be better if patience is your virtue. Good luck!

nolaegghead

An important component of spar finishes is oil, and other chemicals to allow the paint to expand and contract with the wood.  Another is a sunscreen.

pezking7p

If you use BLO wait at least a week before over coating.  2 weeks to be certain.  

Spar at urethane will work best but nothing will last more than a few years unless you use a cover.  

Begger

I'll do the 'dusting' test.   I'm in SoCal and we would seem to be on the edge of what is going to be a world-class hot / dry summer.   It was 90+ here 3 days in a row last week.   Temp at nite dropped around 35 degrees from the days peak!   That's a LOT for around here.  

With this sun, you BET I'm going to have it covered.   My patio cover is 80% Landscape cloth.   Even during summer at high-noon, you can comfortably sit out under it.  It has been up for around 20 years and is STILL nice and flexible.  

nolaegghead

Someone told me they read SoCal would run out of water in a year.  You guys have a serious drought?

Epoxy, the stuff used for marine, as a base makes for a good wood stabilizer and base for spar finishes.  That's how I do it. 

Begger

yes, the drought is SERIOUS.   And they continue to build apartments and new housing like water were FREE.   
San Diego Reservoirs are about 1/2 full.   Maybe more, maybe LESS.   We have an ongoing BEEF with LA and some other issues.    
But having enough Ground Water is NOT one of those issues.  

Wish us LUCK.   We're gonna' need it.   I've already decided to NOT water my lawn except by bucket and car washing is OUT OF THE QUESTION.