Wood treatment

[JeannaJigs]

My driftboat has white oak trim that needs to be treated or it's gonna rot, and continue to look terrible.

What kinda finish have you guys used/reccomend? And yeah I know it needs to be marine, but there's quite a few out there, and I'm getting conflicting suggestions from people.

 

[frodog]

I have used helmsman urathane before with some success. I strongly recomend at least 3 coats for it to last.

 

[Fish-On Fred]

QUOTE=frodog;112927]I have used helmsman urathane before with some success. I strongly recomend at least 3 coats for it to last.[/QUOTE]

I use the same product on my oars. My oars are 26 years old and still trying to pull my arse upstream!!

 

[JeannaJigs]

Thanks

 

[GDBrown]

Jeanna,
I used the Helmsman Spar Urethane on the wood work of the Little Blue Drifter and it gives a real bright finish. It has extra UV protection so the sunlight won't dry it out so fast. The main thing is to get the wood roughed up enough to open the pores of the wood so the finish can soak in real good with the first coat. I thin my first coat with about 10% thinner and that seems to work good. Hope this is helpful.

GD

 

[mlw]

I am getting started building a wood drift boat, and have been doing a ton of research. The consensus among the wood boat crowd seems to be a choice: Marine Varnish over epoxy sealer, or an oil finish. Plain varnish over wood, particularly gunwales (take some abuse), is likely to chip, flake, etc and need sanding and redoing often to look nice. An oil finish (Teak Oil, Penofin, equal parts Linseed Oil and Turp, equal parts Varnish, Linseed Oil, Turp, etc) will need to be wiped on a couple times per year, but no sanding, and will build up to a durable finish (soaks in rather than sits on top of the wood). Many old drift boats that have just been oiled a couple times per year are in great shape after 20-30 years. WoodCraft and Crosscut Hardwoods are two places to look. No perfect finish out there, Montana Boatbuilders forum and Wooden Boat People are a couple spots for more info. Re varnish, Man o war and helmsman spar are the lower end of the marine varnish field, but more available.
Michael

 

[Irishrover]

I agree with MLW. I have a wee bit of teak wood on my my boat. Once a year I take a scrub brush to it, hose it off, let it dry then rub in teak oil with a cloth. I've done that for 20 years on this boat and the wood has held up great.