Need clear finish for Mahogany porch flr
PeteDraganic
| Posted in General Discussion on
I am rebuilding a porch floor for a client. Typically I use SYP T&G boards and paint with oil-based porch floor paint. Simple enough.
This time, I am laying Mahogany and want to “paint” it with something that will preserve the beauty of the flooring wood. (skirtboards are redwood)
My lumber supplier recommends a product by Flood that he has in stock. It is tinted to a cedar color and thought I would like something a little darker for this.
Mind you all, this is an outside porch over a basement area. The porch does not get used much at all…. if ever.
Replies
I need to do a mahogany deck at my home a friend just finished yesterday. Around boston most people reccomend Sekins, big $, close to $50 a gallon but everyone says it is the best?
hope the bump gets more responses.
What would others reccomend for a cedar fence? Thinking of spraying and then brushing something cheap like Thompsons..........Any thoughts out there??
$50/gal is not expensive for a mahogany deck. come on, open your wallet.
You're not far from me, I'm up the road in Wakefield.
I'm redoing an enclosed porch floor too, old painted douglas fir. I'm gonna sand it and put a clear finish but haven't decided what exactly. it's getting too cold here for most surface finishes such as poly.
(how about that for another bump?)
Have you looked into Marine finishes? I used to live near Annapolis MD and marine varnishes with a UV protector were used on porch floors, decks and front doors.Chuck Slive, work, build, ...better with wood
Hi I do NOT recomend anything that can peel, look at an oil based item, NO latex, I LOVE TWP Brand products and they have somewhat clear ones, peeling = scraping at some point! TWP can be touigh to get, I buy on the web. But hey this is only an opinoin, so good luck, Dave
I hear that they are disontiunuing prodcution of all oil-based paints... can't imagine that will also affect stains and varnishes but maybe it will?
The EPA says the production/use of oil-based paints is harming the environement.
I'm really getting tired of this kind of stuff.
http://www.petedraganic.com/
Used Sekins on a cedar deck 7 years ago. Used the untinted product, actually I think it was called natural, great product for outside. The owners use the deck quite a bit and they redo it every other year.
It sounds like this product is a deck sealer... I am looking for more of a durable finish.. Just like I would treat a wooden floor indoors... but of course this one is outdoors.
http://www.petedraganic.com/
I use Flecto Varathane for inside floors. Flecto R&D people tell me they do not recomend it for exterior decks because when you have frost or dew on the deck it is like a skating rink. The Sekins is more than a sealer it is a finish.
Pete,
Try Cabot's Australian Timber oil. It isn't a film type finish, such as paint or a Sikkens product. It comes in a few colors, as well as clear. Works great on Ipe, and I think it would be ideal for Mahogany.
Brudoggie
I am thinking about useing standard minwax stain to deepen the color and then a coat of spar varnish (indoor/outdoor)... I forget the brand name at the moment.
I'll be heading to the hardware store soon, with scraps of mahogany, to play with the colors on it.
http://www.petedraganic.com/
Spar varnish on a deck? Pure and utter madness, unless they are going to hire you every year and you want the job security.
Devoe Paint Co. has an excellent marine spar varnish. Also check Fuller O'brian products. I've used them for 24 years and perform great.
Another vote for the Sikkens, specifically the Sikkens DEK. I did a T&G mahogany (not the real honduras stuff, Santos or something like that). After lots of research online, I decided to use the Sikkens DEK. Everyone including the manufacturer says that it leaves a furniture quality lustre to it. I didn't want a film forming type finish initially, due to the possiblility of peeling but I did really want some shine to the porch though. I read enough good feedback on this product to convince me to try it. All other finishes that left any shine had plenty of complaints. This was the only film forming finish that I found good comments from other users.
My front porch is sheltered and only gets a little wet around the edges, and also sees very little sun. The risk was a little lower in my case due to the sheltering. It does however get heavy traffic and wet mats sitting on it. I had to buy the product online as there were no local shops that carried it. It was about $38 a gallon online. I bought one clear, and one with a med brown tint. I ended up doing one coat of the tinted, and 2 of the clear to achieve the right look. I did not buy the Sikkens DEK Base, which is not necessary with the harder wood, just the plain DEK.
Three years has passed now and it still looks great. There has been no peeling or separation.
At least in my situation, I am so happy with this product that I would use it again, and even be willing to pay 3 times as much.
Sold me! Looking forward to trying it myself.
What Brudoggie said...just finished all my mahogany t&g porches with it painted on all 6 sides. It DOES darken it beautifully...they even have it with stain to get it to a differnt color if thats what you want.
These pic suck but theyre all i have currently..If you want some close ups of the different porches complete just ask and I'll shoot em' tomorrow.
sikkens is real good too...I finished the front two porches last year and they still look great and get lots of traffic
Its the Cabots Australian oil...about $40+ a gallon...goes on real easy but do as the instructions say...Do NOT put it on heavy and do NOT use two coats..
Be well
andy
Creation arises, is sustained for awhile, and then things change. That’s the dance.
http://WWW.CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
http://www.ramdass.com
along with all these endorsements don't forget the one from your lumber supplier - Flood has been putting out the best ext. products for a long time and their cedar colorant contributes to a very rich deep cedar ( beyond naturaltone products like Cabots & Olympic )
likely will not color mahogany so profoundly but will result in a beautiful rich finishwouldn't surprise me at all to find Cabot & Flood are part of the same Co these days
Thanks to everyone. I have decided to go with a red oak stain to darken the flooring so that it matches the original stained and varnished ceiling of 80+ years ago.
I applied the first coat of varnish today, going on the recommendation of my local hardware guy (they also own a lumberyard across town that I deal woth regularly). it is an exterior varnish with UV inhibitors (the name escapes me at the moment). also, the porch floor is protected by a roof and walls on two sides. Very little exposure to elements (sun included).
It looks absolutley beautiful so far. Will return on Wednesday to add another coat.
The porch is not used... no steps up to it and door from inside is blocked. BUT it is the roof over that section of basement and the previously leaking arrangement was "fixed" by another "contractor" and leaked even worse at his completion.
Here are some pics of the porch floor before I started and up to today's progress. I am terrible at taking photos like I should but I am fortunate enough to have a client that does and also that he does web design so he has them online already.
The floor looks extra shiny in the shots because it wasn't dry yet today when he took them.
the pics are here>>>>>> http://www.boom-creative.com/porch/
http://www.petedraganic.com/
Edited 11/5/2006 11:44 pm ET by PeteDraganic
looks like a great choice / reminds me of my old cordovan shoes
Pete,
If you look back thru the old posts you will see my quest for a durable finish for the black walnut timbers on the outside of my home..
With the beautiful wood of black walnut I felt I really needed to show it off..
Well three careful coats of marine spar varnish was the best I could get..
Four coats and it peels off, less than three and there is no durability.
I checked every web site I could find, I called all of the paint suppliers that serviced my state, I talked at length to sales reps and techies..
Anything that shows the wood causes the wood to dull and eventually turn grey.
The real irony is to protect the wood you have to cover it up..
If you come by my house the spar varnish I used got me about three years before the wood is really bleached..
The wood has to be really dry, 10% moisture or less and since most new wood used in home construction is around 19% moisture or worse there needs to be considerable time that passes before you can safely cover anything..
By the way the most durable spar varnish I've found has been Epifanes, but it's cost will shock you..
Frenchy, I assume you varnished over bare wood?
I did stain mine first and I know that wood naturally belaches if left bare... even with a varnish coat. I'm hoping the stain color remains steadfast and eliminates the bleaching process.
How has the actual varnish held up?
http://www.petedraganic.com/
Pete,
The stain offers no increase in fade resistance. If the stain is pigmented enough to provide protection you lose the grain and well much of the beauty of the wood.. May as well paint it (IMHO) that plus several techies reported problems with various stains in an outdoor environment. What's fine inside causes problems with the temp swings and moisture issues outside..
That surprised me because I expected them to say everybodies elses stain was junk but their's was fine under their varnish.. None of them said that..