Wooden shower cubicle, finish advice

[Knotwerx]

Have taken on an interesting little job and am at a loss how best to go about finishing it.

As the tile says, I've been asked to sand up and (potentially oil) a wooden shower cubicle... You heard right I'm fairly sure it's white cedar planks, then a slate shower tray. Some of the trim is in various odds and ends, oak handle, looks like sepele trim in places. There was alot of marks and powdery soap residue everywhere and the planks were retaining moisture at the end grain where it meets the shower tray trim.

It's sanding nicely, so far I've gone over with 80g and 120g but I'm at a loss as to what best to finish it in when I reach that point. I had thought to use osmo wood protector and then finish with a few coats of polyx. However, despite the data sheet saying the wood protector is suitable for 'wet rooms, bathroom, kitchens and saunas (which I was sort of treating this as effectively) upon speaking to Osmo UK, they said it wouldn't be suitable for this application, permanent wet environment and soap residues etc.

So now I'm considering polyurethane, or resin options... Or just an old fashioned tung/danish/teak oil??

Anyone done anything similar? Can't say I've ever encountered a wooden shower enclosure before.

Some pics attached, not the best but you get the idea. There's a side by side of a part sanded panel and an untouched panel.

 

[Jameshow]

I'd look up specialist treatments for saunas??

 

[Knotwerx]

I'd look up specialist treatments for saunas??

Yeh, I did try that. There's alot of conflicting views on it. The one treatment that crops up regularly though is paraffin oil, which is not a finish I've ever encountered or used

I guess a sauna doesn't have direct water hitting it as such, like a shower does. I half wonder if I just go nuclear and yacht varnish it!

My other concern is voc's, safety etc with it being an enclosed, warm and humid space.

 

[sawdustandwax]

Resin and lots of it and whyyyyyyyyyy?

 

[Knotwerx]

Resin and lots of it and whyyyyyyyyyy?

Any you'd recommend? Again, not a finish I'm used to using too much. Got some limited experience with West system...

Only concern I had with finish such as resin/poly etc is preventing it flaking and peeling, I can't access the back of the boards to coat the entire thing. Any thoughts?

And yeh, whyyyyyy indeed it's kind of a favour job, can't say I've ever seen a wooden shower and there was a huge internal eye roll when it I was asked... "oh dear, heeeere we go"

 

[niall Y]

A drying oil, of some form, is probably your best bet - one that doesn't leave white spots when it is splashed. I once built a mahogany bath enclosure for a customer, that I finished in this manner, having taken advice from Rustins, It will degrade, but its advantage over polyurethane, or yacht-varnish, is that it will degrade gracefully, rather than flake and have to be stripped and refinished continuously. The natural materials used in the cubicle, certainly seem to call out for a more natural finish.

There is a guy on Youtube who demonstrates making a wooden sink . if I remember correctly he uses copious amounts of specialist lacquers, that he sprays on. The net result is a plastic sink, with the wood peering from behind. How it performs in real life , we do not get to see.

 

[Jones]

A work top oil like osmo top oil might work, it is designed to be cleaned regularly with kitchen cleaners so might last well and like all oils can be recoated and patched in easily. If going the resin route something like Rustin's plastic wood or an international two pack yatch varnish will stand up well to soap and scrubbing and shouldn't flake, though recoating will need thorough prep and patching in is almost impossible. Resin will also be a more visible finish on rather than in the wood.

 

[thetyreman]

the problem you'll have is the better it is sealed the less moisture can escape and the wood can't dry out, so make sure it's fully dry before sealing it, perhaps a yacht varnish, le tonkinois comes to mind..

 

[johna.clements]

I assume that you have asked if they know who installed it so you could go ask them.

 

[Knotwerx]

Double post, sorry

 

[Knotwerx]

I assume that you have asked if they know who installed it so you could go ask them.

It was installed by a previous owner who's since passed away, apparently was a Mason, but to be fair he's done a fairly good job all things considered. It's been there quite a while, getting on for a decade at least...

Thanks for the advice, can't work out how to quote them all, but yes, I was leaning more toward an oil so it 'degrades gracefully' as it was put. That way, in a few years or whatever a new coat can be applied without stripping back the whole thing.

My thinking was hopefully the wood is still able to breath and dry due to not being able to access the back of the boards, they're fixed to battens on a masonry wall so there is air flow etc.

 

[Jameshow]

Any you'd recommend? Again, not a finish I'm used to using too much. Got some limited experience with West system...

Only concern I had with finish such as resin/poly etc is preventing it flaking and peeling, I can't access the back of the boards to coat the entire thing. Any thoughts?

And yeh, whyyyyyy indeed it's kind of a favour job, can't say I've ever seen a wooden shower and there was a huge internal eye roll when it I was asked... "oh dear, heeeere we go"

West?

Sp resins.

 

[Knotwerx]

West?

Sp resins.

https://restorate.co.uk/products/west-system-epoxy-resin?variant=40649739600053&currency=GBP&utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=shopping&utm_content=West+System+Epoxy+Resin+%26+Hardener+205+Fast+600g+Junior+Pack&gclid=CjwKCAjw2OiaBhBSEiwAh2ZSPx49iwY1VQY9XWTvXinKmDXDpaR_WSaqybjJ08Eemaz2WCfav8hBEhoC4yEQAvD_BwE

Was pretty much industry standard when I worked on superyachts. Though I only used it a few times, more as a filler/glue due to there being a 'finishing' team, separate to the joinery team...

 

[sawdustandwax]

Personally I'd use a wood hardener type product. Simple to use, won't flake and will help deal with the water soaking into the end grain. For 'true' resin with hardeners think of this like the deck of the boat and you'd need a clear coating type resin. There are now so many it would best to speak to a supplier to decide between them.
The concern I have is that first photo showing the staining at the shower tray, that needs to be dealt with as best as possible.
Given its lasted 10 yrs, which is way longer than some installs in new houses, the previous owner clearly put some thought into the construction with the battens and resulting air-gap playing a large part in that. Still won't be rushing out to buy some slate and cedar to replacing the shower enclosure..

 

[Knotwerx]

Personally I'd use a wood hardener type product. Simple to use, won't flake and will help deal with the water soaking into the end grain. For 'true' resin with hardeners think of this like the deck of the boat and you'd need a clear coating type resin. There are now so many it would best to speak to a supplier to decide between them.
The concern I have is that first photo showing the staining at the shower tray, that needs to be dealt with as best as possible.
Given its lasted 10 yrs, which is way longer than some installs in new houses, the previous owner clearly put some thought into the construction with the battens and resulting air-gap playing a large part in that. Still won't be rushing out to buy some slate and cedar to replacing the shower enclosure..

Yep, that photo is not long after the sparky had tested the shower so it was 'freshly wet', to be fair it does dry out fine. There is some residual staining from over the years.

Totally agree, I'm not going to be doing it my house, buts it's not a bad job, and is certainly, erm... different?

 

[Jones]

West, sip etc are epoxy resins for laminating and glueing they are not suitable for finishing.

 

[Peterthegardener]

Have taken on an interesting little job and am at a loss how best to go about finishing it.

As the tile says, I've been asked to sand up and (potentially oil) a wooden shower cubicle... You heard right I'm fairly sure it's white cedar planks, then a slate shower tray. Some of the trim is in various odds and ends, oak handle, looks like sepele trim in places. There was alot of marks and powdery soap residue everywhere and the planks were retaining moisture at the end grain where it meets the shower tray trim.

It's sanding nicely, so far I've gone over with 80g and 120g but I'm at a loss as to what best to finish it in when I reach that point. I had thought to use osmo wood protector and then finish with a few coats of polyx. However, despite the data sheet saying the wood protector is suitable for 'wet rooms, bathroom, kitchens and saunas (which I was sort of treating this as effectively) upon speaking to Osmo UK, they said it wouldn't be suitable for this application, permanent wet environment and soap residues etc.

So now I'm considering polyurethane, or resin options... Or just an old fashioned tung/danish/teak oil??

Anyone done anything similar? Can't say I've ever encountered a wooden shower enclosure before.

Some pics attached, not the best but you get the idea. There's a side by side of a part sanded panel and an untouched panel.

I’ve done a fair bit on my river boat and I reckon you have 2 options.
Resin covered over with many coats of yacht varnish. A few coats of West epoxy well washed to remove surface amines ( the blush will otherwise prevent the varnish from hardening). A good yacht varnish with as many coats as you can find the patience to apply (5 or more).
Or try an oil. Rustin’s Danish might be okay (7 coats maybe) but I prefer International Woodskin, just 3 coats have held up well over the years on external oak and teak on my boat, I just lightly rub it back and overcoat every few years.
None of this is low VOC stuff so apply using suitable mask or copious ventilation.
Peter

 

[Knotwerx]

I’ve done a fair bit on my river boat and I reckon you have 2 options.
Resin covered over with many coats of yacht varnish. A few coats of West epoxy well washed to remove surface amines ( the blush will otherwise prevent the varnish from hardening). A good yacht varnish with as many coats as you can find the patience to apply (5 or more).
Or try an oil. Rustin’s Danish might be okay (7 coats maybe) but I prefer International Woodskin, just 3 coats have held up well over the years on external oak and teak on my boat, I just lightly rub it back and overcoat every few years.
None of this is low VOC stuff so apply using suitable mask or copious ventilation.
Peter

Thats interesting, thanks. Does woodskin have a particularly glossy finish to it? I'm keen for it to retain the wood character with just a satin sheen. Wonder what the colour change on cedar would be like also.

 

[Peterthegardener]

Thats interesting, thanks. Does woodskin have a particularly glossy finish to it? I'm keen for it to retain the wood character with just a satin sheen. Wonder what the colour change on cedar would be like also.

I think that woodskin is quite glossy, it produces a very durable, slightly flexible coat. The rubbing strakes in the photo are white oak so you can see it produces quite a golden colour

 

[whereistheceilidh]

It looks as tho water is getting up the end grain of the boards butting the shower tray. You would have to dry that completly to use resin or varnish & find some way of sealing that grain. Both would prob still sit on the surface of the wood & you would hve gaps between. You could just go down the route of stopping the wood rotting with a waterbased preserver then leave it untreated & renew preservative at regular intervals. Wood will get wet, move & dry out.....
Yacht varnish does not often cope well with hot water