Finish for oak that in a bathroom (Belfast sink stand)

[Britman]

I've been asked to build a stand for a Belfast sink that going to be in a bathroom.
Customer wants Oak accent around the base of the sink and the shelf the tap sits on.
Rest of the stand is to be painted.

Any recommendations on a durable finish. Both areas are likely to get wet from splashes as you can imagine.

Cheers.

 

[Austin Branson]

I've been asked to build a stand for a Belfast sink that going to be in a bathroom.
Customer wants Oak accent around the base of the sink and the shelf the tap sits on.
Rest of the stand is to be painted.

Any recommendations on a durable finish. Both areas are likely to get wet from splashes as you can imagine.

Cheers.

Hello Britman.
It needs to be something pretty tough to withstand all that splashing. I think you’re going to need something like epoxy. Try West System. Good luck. Austin

 

[mrpercysnodgrass]

West system will give a very waterproof finish but so will oil based varnish and danish oil so long as they are applied well. I finished my mother in laws beech kitchen worktop with danish oil and it lasted eight years before it started to break down and that was confined to the area around the sink.

 

[Britman]

Thanks guys. From what I've seen of Epoxy it will have a glossy finish, that might be more than the client wants. Danish oil might be a better way forward.
They are now looking at Iroko.

 

[timothyedoran]

Won't oak stain black within a couple of years? Good plan to steer them away from it.

 

[Britman]

Won't oak stain black within a couple of years? Good plan to steer them away from it.

That's a great point that I never told them about. However if coated in epoxy surely that would stop oak from going black?

 

[Woody Woody Harrelson]

Owatrol D1 Pro is worth considering.

 

[JonOuk]

If it’s well sealed with say a 2 pack p.u, it should be ok with occasional exposure to water.
Should some black staining occur, depending on the duration it’s left untreated etc, it may be possible to remove it with Oxalic acid crystals mixed with hot water applied to the area. It should then be neutralised with water and maybe baking soda. You can use vinegar/acetic acid too I think.
You should get visible results instantly when applied, but I learnt that 90% of bleaching happens in the last 10% of drying (how true that is I don’t know!).
Hope this helps

 

[Doug B]

Another option is hard wax oil such as Treetex, I used hard wax oil on all the oak in our downstairs loo which has a small sit on handwash basin on a solid oak worktop & it all still looks good over 10 years on.

 

[HOJ]

I've made loads of worktops and furniture for kitchens, bathrooms, cloaks and also flooring in Oak, my go to product has been Fiddes hard wax oil in Satin Matt.

Here's one I made earlier, with a piece of rock for a sink!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Dulux Diamond Glaze, would be great, 3 coats minimum.
Have had large oak basin stands for 10 years with no probs ,
Despite lots of water splashing ,still like the day they were installed!