Oil for wood gunwales?

[Guest]

My preference for gunwale oil has long been the DIY mix of 1/3 turpentine, 1/3 boiled linseed oil and /13 spar varnish. It works well, is easy to apply and seems to penetrate and protect. That belief may be colored by the fact that it is cheap, readily available and a good use for the last dregs of varnish destined to solidify in the can.

The turpentine and linseed oil will eventually dissolve even a hockey puck of old varnish, and the can in my shop has become a mystery mix, having had the last dregs of tung oil, lemon oil and etc what the heck dumped into the can.

But it isn’t worth buying spar varnish just to make that mix, and the turpentine is on the stinky side (I add a dollop more turp to the initial coat).

I have not been impressed with Gunwale Guard; it seemed the least effective of the oils I have tried. I did one set of virgin ash gunwales with (real) Tung oil. It held up well, but the gunwales developed some black splotches over time, which may have been an incorrect application or preparation on my part.

I know Watco is popular, but I’m not sure which one (Watco Teak?). I have used Watco exterior and was not terribly impressed with the application. It had a long dry to recoat time even in a warm shop, and got kinda sticky messy if recoated too soon.

Deks Olje? I have never used it, or even seen it in a store, but have heard good things, including that it can be recoated a couple times a day.

I am curious what gunwale oil folks use, and their oiling procedures.

One specific question. I have always oiled gunwales in a warm(ed) shop and kept it warm as the coats dried. In a warm shop I can get two coats of the turp/linseed/varnish mix on each day, one morning/one evening, but that is still a considerable multi-day heating bill just to oil some gunwales.

How do oil treatments fair if applied in cold temperatures?

 

[yellowcanoe]

http://www.rustoleum.com/MSDS/ENGLISH/206347.pdf

naptha 40 percent of the content by weight of Watco Teak Oil

We have used as you do, Others do too.

http://www.woodcentral.com/russ/finish7.shtml

We found that oiling needs to be done in several coats, often and the oils do not penetrate deeply at all. That is OK for something easily maintained like gunwales. We rub in with a Scotchbrite pad to heat it up. That said we arent running our K1 monitor heater just to do gunwales.

 

[Canotrouge]

Mike I do the same as you for the initial gunnels treatment and then I maintain with tung oil. I use mineral spirit or citrus solvent instead of turp, but the rest is the same. I use to use that on furniture to....

As for Gunnel gard, I never had goods success with it, seems like it wouldn't even last one outing.

As for heating, I try to do it on a warm day... I don't have a shop yet, working on that as wee speak. And I doubt that I will keep a canoe in there for many days to do gunnels, but one never know!!

I wouldn't apply oil in cold let say below freezing, but I never had problem applying it in the teens temp. What I sometime do is I warm up the oil before applying. it seems to make a difference. That is what I do right now on the post and beam/timber frame of my shop. I use boiled linseed oil and citrus solvent(10%) and when warmed up, it penetrate like crazy!!

 

[Guest]

Mike I do the same as you for the initial gunnels treatment and then I maintain with tung oil. I use mineral spirit or citrus solvent instead of turp, but the rest is the same. I use to use that on furniture to....

I like replacing the turpentine with mineral spirits or citrus solvent. The turpentine seems to help with penetration, but gawd it is pervasively stinky. My shop is attached to the house via a mud room and two closed doors and the turpentine stank still creeps in, even with an exhaust fan and the shop doors/windows open.

The mineral spirits or citrus solvent would help dissolve the waste-not hockey puck of varnish as well.

 

[Canotrouge]

I like replacing the turpentine with mineral spirits or citrus solvent. The turpentine seems to help with penetration, but gawd it is pervasively stinky. My shop is attached to the house via a mud room and two closed doors and the turpentine stank still creeps in, even with an exhaust fan and the shop doors/windows open.

The mineral spirits or citrus solvent would help dissolve the waste-not hockey puck of varnish as well.

That is the reason why I switch to mineral spirit and now citrus solvent, my shop, until now, is in the basement... So smell was a big issue!!
I use stuff sold by these guys now http://www.solventfreepaint.ca

 

[BWCA66]

I use Watco teak oil and it is closer to your mix than it is to pure oil. I believe it is only 40% oil.

 

[Canotrouge]

For best penetration, they suggest using raw linseed oil first, and then boiled after... I never tried that yet, but I'm going towards that practice to try and limit the solvent I use.

 

[Guest]

We have used as you do, Others do too.

http://www.woodcentral.com/russ/finish7.shtml

Thanks, informative link.

 

[Steve in Idaho]

Mike, I have used the same mix (with mineral spirits), but I use Watco Teak mostly these days. I can't say for sure, but I've read that it also contains a fungus inhibitor. That could be what your black splotches are, BTW.

 

[Jim Dodd]

Watco Teak for me also. Yeah it has drying time problems, and sometimes, my ash will darken underneath. Mold. .

 

[NorseScotsman]

I use Badger Wood Oil (formerly Badger Paddle and Gunnel Oil): http://www.badgerpaddles.com/paddles/BADGER_Wood_Oil.html

I have carbon/kevlar gunnels on my canoe, but I use it on all the wood in my canoe (seats, thwarts, yoke) and have been pleased with how well it works.

 

[AK_Brad]

Minwax Tung Oil for all wood parts, especially pleased with the results on refurbished Blackhawk Zepher gunwales (ash) and thwarts (mahogany) after a thorough sanding. Winter-time maintenance project(s) in an attached, heated shop; overnight (24hr) between hand-rubbed coats.

 

[Guest]

http://www.rustoleum.com/MSDS/ENGLISH/206347.pdf

naptha 40 percent of the content by weight of Watco Teak Oil

That is a lot of Naphtha in bang for buck, even at $9 a quart for Watco Teak. Naphtha as solvent I got.

I am now wondering about the least malodorous or least solvent-ey gunwale oil to use in the winter shop, when I’d rather keep the shop mostly closed and warm, and not stank up the house for a lingering week with turpentine odor, or poison the family as they slept with solvents.

What are the low stink, low solvent choices? At least for the initial penetration coats, figuring the gunwales will be periodically wiped down with (? Tung) oil in the ever after.

 

[Canotrouge]

I think that citrus solvent sold by these guys would be your best bet http://www.solventfreepaint.ca
I use it to protect the wood of the timber frame I'm building, and I'm doing it inside a heated shack(think big wall tent) and it is not bad at all!!

 

[Guest]

I think that citrus solvent sold by these guys would be your best bet

Does it have a nice lemoney smell?

Seriously, if the odor pervaded the house that wouldn't be as stenchy as turpentine.

 

[Canotrouge]

It does, more like orangey than lemoney, but it does smell way better then turp!

 

[Guest]

I guess I know the answer to this, but I’ll ask for confirmation.

Is the solvent in these mixes, DIY and store bought, there to provide penetration? Fungus inhibition? Both?

If so I am guessing that any initial coat should contain some solvent and subsequent coats can be heavier or completely oil.

 

[Canotrouge]

From my understanding, the solvent is only there to help with penetration by making the oil thinner! As for Fungus, I never ever had a problem, that said, I live in a place where we have relatively low humidity, quite dry climate!! Allbak suggest to use raw linseed oil for deep penetration in the wood for better protection and then boiled for subsequent coats. They really are careful in suggesting solvent, and when they do, they say to use it in moderation!

 

[Guest]

Allbak suggest to use raw linseed oil for deep penetration in the wood for better protection and then boiled for subsequent coats. They really are careful in suggesting solvent, and when they do, they say to use it in moderation!

Next wood gunwale replacement (I hope never, I’m out of inside storage) I’ll try raw linseed oil as a first coat.

As for Fungus, I never ever had a problem, that said, I live in a place where we have relatively low humidity, quite dry climate!!

I expect that location humidity is a real consideration. That wood gunwaled Independence hung in the shop has never been stored outdoors, yet the gunwales blotchy blackened. It is not a horrible look and the gunwales, re-oiled before or after every trip, are still sound and solid.

There is definitely a fugus amongst us, depending on where you live. The mid-Atlantic region near the Chesapeake Bay can be God’s own armpit in summer, and most of the local canoes I have worked on have had blackened butt ends of thwarts and yokes. Those parts are at least is easier to replace than suspect gunwales.

There are worse places to store canoes. A friend who had lived in Maryland for years brought his canoe fleet with him when he moved to Florida. His boats were stored under an expansive open sided pole barn (previously an airplane hanger) at his new digs, so fully out of the rain.

His wood brightwork, especially the butt ends, once sound, decayed in surprising short order, and a glassed wood stripper that had happily lived in Pennsylvania and Maryland for a decade or more turned to mulch over time.

 

[Alan Gage]

That wood gunwaled Independence hung in the shop has never been stored outdoors, yet the gunwales blotchy blackened. It is not a horrible look and the gunwales, re-oiled before or after every trip, are still sound and solid......There is definitely a fugus amongst us, depending on where you live.

Maybe a water repellent preservative would be a good choice, if only as a first coat, in protecting against mold and fungus:

http://www.wwpinstitute.org/documents/fplgtr109.pdf

I pretreated all my cedar siding (pre-install) with it before the final stain was applied (post-install). But it's only been a 5 years (wow, 5 years already!?!?) so too soon to say if it's helping.

Alan