Wood finish?

[John Torchick]

I might have addressed this in the past. I have a project of turning a handle for a sauce pan that was my mother's. Finally remembered it. Finally! The original handle was painted black. What do you recommend for something that will be washed on a regular basis. It won't be put in the dishwasher. Thanks.

 

[Tom Albrecht]

What kind of wood will you be using?

 

[odie]

I wonder how epoxy rubbed into the surface would fare being washed multiple times?

If that worked, you might be able to retain the beauty of the wood.....but.....I can understand why the original handle was painted. You'd have to find a coating that would prevent penetration of the wood by the water, I would think.......

Some sort of stain could be used underneath the epoxy.

ko

 

[Tom Albrecht]

What kind of wood will you be using?

The more I think about this the more I realize it can't be that big of a deal. Really, how often does anybody wash and scrub a pot handle? I don't mean to belittle your concern, but I think you'd be fine with just about anything, like Waterlox for example. I have used that finish on all the bare wood furniture and tables in my home. I can put a cold drink on the wood table, and it will not leave a ring. Our White Oak breakfast table gets used and spilled on daily by the grandkids, and then wiped with a soapy wet towel, with no signs of wear after many years.

 

[John Torchick]

Tom, there you go- confusing the issue with facts. Don't know as I'll have to look through the wood inventory. I have cherry, walnut, and pecan out the wazoo so I might go that route. Don't want to go with anything that would be an oily wood. I think I had set aside a piece of something- need to find it in the midst of the confusion. May have to post it for identification here.
odie, the paint actually has held up over almost 70 years. The tenon that went into the pan rotted. I like the idea of the epoxy and possible some stain and epoxy. We have a fellow in our chapter who finishes bowls with epoxy. He even brought a setup that turns the bowl so the epoxy doesn't flow but is uniform.
Thanks for your replies.

 

[Bill Boehme]

I might have addressed this in the past. I have a project of turning a handle for a sauce pan that was my mother's. Finally remembered it. Finally! The original handle was painted black. What do you recommend for something that will be washed on a regular basis. It won't be put in the dishwasher. Thanks.

There's no such thing as a finish or treatment that will prevent water from reaching the wood. Wood is constantly moving while any kind of film finish is brittle and as a result will develop microscopic cracks that allow water to reach the wood. Once that happens, moisture that gets beneath the finish tends to become trapped. Because epoxy is much more brittle than a film finish like varnish or paint I think it would be inferior other finishes.

If the wood is the Jatoba that I sent you several months ago, you might be able to use it bare or with an oil finish. The closest that you might be able to to get to completely sealing the wood would be to soak it in Minwax Wood Hardener. The downside is that the wood hardener makes it harder to work the wood so do all the turning and shaping before soaking in the wood hardener.

 

[Zach LaPerriere]

Just one idea: Go for a wood that is used on boats. Teak might be a bit soft, but it's oily nature is such that my sailboat went around the world and the teak in the cockpit held up for more than 30 years. When I removed it, the wood had lost less than a 1/16".

Apitong is cheap and used on crab boat decks. Ironbark is another, used for guards where heavy abrasion is common. You can't buy it new anymore, but there's lots kicking around any shipwright's haunt. I have some iron bark that must've been in the surf for decades, off of old shipwrecks. It's rounded but still sound.

 

[John Torchick]

Shipwright? Only about 600 miles from the ocean. I will dig out the piece of wood and post it for ID.