Techniques For Waterproofing Wood
In order to increase the life of the wood, waterproofing is very important otherwise the untreated wood is prone to rotting, warping, or cracking. There are a number of techniques used for waterproofing the wood, the best of them are given below:
Waterproofing Wood With Oil
- Choose The Oil To Use: The first method is to choose the oil, usually three oils are used for waterproofing wood and those are linseed, walnut, and tung. The tung oil is usually found as a mix in most of the commercial products. Walnut oil is available at any grocery store, the walnut oil cannot be used commercially because of the nut allergies.
- Create A Mixture: Once the oil is decided the next step is to create a mixture by mixing the oil with turpentine and apple cider vinegar. Simply mix one part of the oil and one part of turpentine with the 1/2 part of the cedar mixture. This mixture will help to create a more durable finish.
- Prepare: Before applying the mixture its better to prepare the wood, look for any kind of the imperfection, then sand the area with the thick sandpaper, continue sanding until the area looks even.
- Apply: Before applying the mixture, wear gloves and fold the lint-free rag, carefully pour a small amount of the oil on the rag, and don't pour the oil directly on the wood, then start rubbing the oil in the directions of the grains.
- Let The Coat Dry: Once the oil is applied to all the areas then wait for 30 minutes, after that wipe the excess oil with the help of the cloth, and leave it to dry for 24 hours, and apply the second coat.
Sealants
This is the other method of waterproofing and the steps are mentioned below:
- Prepare The Surface: The first step is to remove any trace of the existing finish with the help of the sandpaper before applying the sealant. The Sealant method is best for the previously finished wood.
- Purchase: The next step is to buy the water-based sealer for the wood, which is easily available at the grocery stores.
- Apply: The next step is to apply the even coat of the sealant with the help of the brush, the place to apply the sealant is in the place where the humidity is controlled like a garage, before applying the sealant the wood surface should be properly cleaned.
- Dry: Allow the sealant to dry completely and remember different sealants have different drying time.
- Clean The First Coat: Once the first coat is dried than clean it with the fine grit sandpaper as this will adhere the second coat better.
- Second Coat: Now apply the second coat, for the hardwood one coat is sufficient but in case of the softwood 2 or 3 coats may be used, before using the wood again allow it to dry completely for several days.