Water logged project

[JeffMan]

I'm going to make a shaving brush and soap bowl using the brush purchased at Woodcraft. I have turned literally hundreds of pens, so I'm very familiar with all kinds of wood and how different wood takes a finish right from the lathe. That being said, I bought some black mesquite for this project and I've never used it before. It seems quite dense, it hasn't been cut it yet, but it appears to be similar to cocobolo. It looks like it's going to have a great natural color so I'm not worried about what the finish will do to it as far as color. It is going to have contact with lots of water and will likely have water not to mention shaving soap sitting on it during and after each use. I'm thinking just a beeswax finish might be the best thing but not sure. Any ideas? I'm open to using different wood if that mesquite is going to be a problem(which I don't think it will). I've seen several posts about how hard regular mesquite is, so I'm hoping this was a good choice.

I just read the instructions and it just says to use finish of your choice, CA, friction polish, wax. I'm still curious if anyone has any experience with this.

http://www.woodcraft.com/Images/products/151091_230.jpg

Thanks,

Jeff

[Dan S]

If it's going to have a lot of contact with water, I would go with at least outdoor polyurethane (the stuff for doors). You might want to consider an epoxy like west system, or system 3, as they are designed for wooden boat construction.

[PaulMarcel]

That has CPES written all over it. Two coats and the project is considered waterproof. I used it on a bathroom vanity top in Sapelé. I put Arm-R-Seal Satin on it afterwards to set the sheen, but the CPES makes it waterproof. Note that there are two formulas; warm weather and cold weather. It has to do with the application temperature. You'll get a slower cure (and better penetration IMHO) with "warm weather" even if it is cooler out.

APPLY IN A WELL VENTILATED AREA

[DeanJackson]

Outdoor poly ("spar varnish") has two differences from indoor poly.

• It's designed to flex more. The mast of a ship - the spar, even - would flex when the wind picked up, and the finish couldn't crack off when the wood bent.
• It has additives to be more resistant to ultraviolet light. Since it's outside, and presumably in the sun, normal poly degrades quickly, whereas outdoor poly holds up a bit better.
  
  • Go with a poly or epoxy, and build a thick film coat. Thick film finishes are, by their nature, pretty darn water resistant.
  • Go with an oil finish, and do *not* let it dry out; re-oil it from time to time. Oil repels water pretty darn well.

A shaving brush won't be flexing too too much, so I wouldn't worry about outdoor poly. I'd work on one of two things here.

[PaulMarcel]

Dean's comment reminds me that I should have mentioned that CPES penetrates the wood and isn't a thick epoxy film like those bar top coatings. My vanity top looks like like Sapelé with Arm-R-Seal on it; nothing hints at epoxy.

[DeanJackson]

Dean's comment reminds me that I should have mentioned that CPES penetrates the wood and isn't a thick epoxy film like those bar top coatings. My vanity top looks like like Sapelé with Arm-R-Seal on it; nothing hints at epoxy.

I might have to give this CPES voodoo a look. :-) Thanks!

[Beechwood Chip]

Marc has a video (I should just have a hot-key that prints, "Marc has a video").

It's a Guild Video.