Can you waterproof oak without a 'varnished' look?

[tamper]

Hi there,

Hope someone can help. I've had an oak box made onto which my bathroom sink bowl will sit. The oak is currently completely untreated and thus has a nice matt pale look to it.

Since its going near water, I think it should be waterproofed in some way. Unfortunately the polyeurethane protectors (even the 'colourless matt' ones) give the wood a wet varnished look, and more shine that in had previously.

My wife thinks that coating the whole piece like this will turn what currently looks like a very contemporary bit of furniture into something that looks like a wardrobe.

So, does any finishing product exist that will waterproof the wood without changing its natural colour? Or perhaps some method of pre-treating the wood (maybe with beeswax?) that would prevent the polyeurethane from changing its colour?

Hope that makes sense!

tamper

 

[jasonB]

Waterbased finishes will not darken the timber as much as an oil based poly finish will. However they will still slightly darken it and even the matt ones will give a slight sheen.

I have not tried it but a stone impregnator used to seal limestone/travatine etc may do the job. I have some Lithofin stainstop knocking about so will do a test and report back, probably not until the weekend though.

If the oak smooth planed or still with a sawn texture and what oak is it, European, american white, etc.

The main thing is that oak and water do not mix, you will overtime develope black staining particularly around any tap holes if you have set the tap into the wood, so it must be sealed, top, bottom and all cut edges.

Jason

 

[Nick W]

I've not tried this myself, so do a test on a scrap, but how about oiling combined with liming wax?

If I were to try it I think I'd definitely wire brush the timber first, but then I'm not sure if it would be better to wax then oil, of vice versa. Does anyone else have any thoughts on this as an idea?

 

[Scrit]

What about using a matt water-borne acrylic floor lacquer (3 or 4 coats) followed by knocking-back with a Scotch grey or maroon abrasive cloth? Works quite well on worktops

Scrit

 

[gavin e]

I'd agree that a water based floor lacquer is a good way to go to avoid a great colour change.

I'd also find out where your local woodfinishing retailer is (not a B & Q type place but the specialist supplier used by local spraying or floor finishing firms.) Give them a ring and ask which product they do that is designed especially for finishing kitchen worktops. I've used these in the past and they actually have a higher specification than a floor lacquer, but they don't tend to be water based so you may have to have a trade off between durability and colour. It's usually available in a 10% almost total matt finish.

As jason said above, make sure you really seal the edges and the areas around taps etc!!!!! Oak does not like water.....

gavin e

 

[Scrit]

The stuff I was thinking about is Dulux Diamond Glaze which is specified for commercial environments - not cheap but very durable.

Scrit

 

[tamper]

Wow - thanks for all these replies guys. Some great suggestions there.

In answer to jasonB's questions - it is definitely European oak (I'm actually doing this in France, with local materials) and is planed very smooth.

I haven't actually noticed any water-based lacquers in the shops here, but I'll keep an eye out. The idea of a stone impregnator is interesting too.

 

[jasonB]

Dulux Diamond glaze does not come in matt, I use Barfords aquacote but as I said the matt still has a slight sheen though I don't cut back the final coat.

Jason

 

[Scrit]

My apologies Jason, I meant to say silk - a semi-matt which if knocked back with a Scotch maroon cloth is almost matt. I did a showroom floor this way a few years back and I've recently gone back and redone the floor. To my eye on a mid-brown oak floor it looks fairly matt after goinfg over with the Scotch abrasives.

Scrit

 

[woodbloke]

The other water based matt acrylic to use is available at Homebase (their own brand). To the best of my knowledge, the other sheds only do Satin and Gloss in their own ranges which I personally don't like. I've used the matt finish on several projects now and there is a very slight sheen but hardly any colouration of the timber - Rob

 

[jasonB]

Did a little test on a scrap piece of 9" wide floorboard from Framce, the board is as it came out of a planner with no sanding hence planner ripple.

On the right the wood was treated with Lithofin NM Stainstop which is an impregnator for slate/marble/limestone etc. I the middle is matt Barfords Aquacote and to the right Idro-stop an Italian sealer for granite. Strips between were masked so show the untreated wood. 3 coats of each applied

The Aquacote and Idro stop both gave the least colour change, the Lithofin darkened the wood a little more, probably due to the petrolium base.

The Aquacote was cut back with a grey Scotchbrite pad but still has a higher level of sheen as the raking angle of the light shows.

I also put a drop of water on each finish, the Lithofin caused the water to bead up again no doubt due to the petrolium base, the IS was not affected but the Aquacote showed signs of the water soaking into the oak possible due to the tops of the planer ripples being sinded bare when the surface was cut back or the fact the three (would usually use 5) coats had had less than 24hrs to dry.

Conclusion, given that the Aquacote had little effect on the colour I would stick with this type of finish as I know that it lastsin the longterm, unlike the others which are a bit of an unknown on timber.

 

[Woody Alan]

I was going to post a question on how do I finish oak with minimal colour change and seem to have found an question/answer covering it except Jason where do I purchase barfords products from? which retailers/ wholesalers?

TIA Alan

 

[jasonB]

You need to go direct to Barfords or they also sell it through the reclamation firm LASSCO. Not cheap as it comes in 5lts and costs about £60 inc postage. Their website does not have much detail now but they do have a leaflet on using it for woodworking.

Just got F&C through the post today and there is an article on wood finishing and the effects of daylight, not read it yet, but aquacote is one of the finishes used and also aquacote/Ambre Solaire mix :!:

Jason

 

[tamper]

Brilliant photo test Jason - thanks a lot.

Looks like i'll be sourcing some Aquacote when I'm in the UK next month.