DutchKiwiCowboy2 Posted May 2, 2008 Report Share Posted May 2, 2008 Hi all, 8) I've nearly finished my hood for my 2' tank. The hood is made out of Australian Silky Oak, so I want a clear finish. I was thinking of finishing it with marine varnish, but now I am wondering if Danish oil might be a good idea. Does anyone know if it is stable enough in the long term? Has anyone used it before? The girl at the shop said you need to recoat it every ten months or so, but she was just repeating what they had told her to say at the sales course because what she told me about the marine varnish was a load of ^&%. :roll: I'm still leaning towards the marine varnish, but the oil might have a warmer glow to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaNs Posted May 2, 2008 Report Share Posted May 2, 2008 Do you have lids on your tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted May 2, 2008 Report Share Posted May 2, 2008 I do a bit of wood turning and an oil finish looks great as it will bring out the colours in the wood but it will not be resistant enough to withstand the moisture round an aquarium. You will need to put a good finish to stand up. I have not used marine varnish but it should waterproof it well or there would be a lot of sinking boats out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DutchKiwiCowboy2 Posted May 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2008 I do have a glass lid on there at the moment but the hood is designed to replace it. That was my main concern as well Alanmin. Even if it is stable enough in the short term it, would probably deteriorate too quickly to make it worth while. The Marine varnish will have a slightly yellowing effect but it is made to be around water. I didn't tell the girl at the shop I am a painter, she was trying to tell me I had to put 6-7 coats on to make the marine varnish work. What a laugh, no paint has any extra benefit after three coats. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted May 2, 2008 Report Share Posted May 2, 2008 She is probably confused with polyurathane where they often dilute the first few coats. I have a cabinet made from mdf where I sealed the inside joints with marine epoxy and got it sprayed inside and out with two pot car paint and it has been OK. I like the finish oils give but they don't last under those conditions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ant N Posted May 2, 2008 Report Share Posted May 2, 2008 Marine varnish (polyurethane) has higher amount of UV blockers than standard exterior types and even more than interior Satin . this means it will yellow more when shaded from sunlight. Danish Oil, Deks Ola etc may leach contaminants when condensation forms inside hood and drips back into tank.. could be risky I'm a painter too .. sometimes it is difficult to get information on products that are imported. especially from the school kids at some of the trade shops nowdays! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoon Posted May 2, 2008 Report Share Posted May 2, 2008 daqnish oil also tends to react with ane moisture in the wood and come up a milky colour, u could stain the wood first then epoxy coat it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doch Posted May 2, 2008 Report Share Posted May 2, 2008 i stripped the varnish of my rimu tank and finished it with danish oil not cheap but very good results Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwalk Posted May 3, 2008 Report Share Posted May 3, 2008 I made a lid for a 40l tank out of macrocarpa, and used an oil finish. 1 yr on it still looks good, HOWEVER, the timber has absorbed moisture and warped. On my next hood for my 130l tank i'm going to use a polyurethane, hopefully that will seal it moisture tight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted May 3, 2008 Report Share Posted May 3, 2008 You might get away with polyurathane on the inside and oil on the outside. I am not sure if that would cause the wood to twist (like puting veneer on only one side of customwood). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DutchKiwiCowboy2 Posted May 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 4, 2008 Hi Doch Did you mean you oiled the outside of your tank? If so then Alanmin's idea might be an option. I would hate for my top to warp though as it's taken me 9 months to get this far. (I love working with wood but I don't get much time for it at the mo) Or else I might go along with Spoons idea. Sorry to hear about your warped efforts Dwalk. (can I get anyone else's name in here) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwalk Posted May 4, 2008 Report Share Posted May 4, 2008 I'm not too worried about the warp, it is minor, and it's not the lid, as I reinforced it with Jarrah epoxied into routed slots. Basically the corner joins opened up, and the back (behind piano hinged lid) lifted at 1 corner. Still looks OK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DutchKiwiCowboy2 Posted May 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2008 Nice tank Dwalk! 8) What kind of rock is the greenish one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwalk Posted May 5, 2008 Report Share Posted May 5, 2008 Err, approx 10kg of greenstone, (not NZ though) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DutchKiwiCowboy2 Posted May 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2008 Nice 8) wonder how many burglars would think of looking in an aquarium. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Smith Posted May 19, 2008 Report Share Posted May 19, 2008 Hi Cowboy, I have an 80L tank with glass cover (with a 4 cm gap down one short edge to allow tubes etc in/out). I used pine with Danish oil. I can't remember how many coats, but I typically would put down at least three and I think this was done in a hurry, so it's probably three coats. It looks a bit like Dwalk's, but the wood may be thicker on mine. I get condensation on the inside over the 4cm gap in the glass and had to add a line of silicon to act as a dam/drip-line to stop the condensation running out the sloping lid. I've had no substantial warping although I do get some mould growing on the inside of the lid. Most of it wipes off, but over the last two years some has grown into the wood. The outside still looks excellent. Danish oil may not be the best, but it seems to do the job well enough. Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Smith Posted May 19, 2008 Report Share Posted May 19, 2008 By the way, if you are using Danish oil, the more coats the better the finish. The first few are diluted (wipe-on, wipe-off) and using steel wool in between. If you are diligent you can get a phenominal finish. I've never seen better than the finish I have on an NZ heart rimu TV cabinet I made. It has about 10 Coats of danish oil and looks and feels like silky glass. More depth also gives you more protection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted May 19, 2008 Report Share Posted May 19, 2008 I often use organoil to finish wood with. It contains a number of oils and can give a finish without the heavy shine if you prefer. I have just built a shelf in the kitchen above the stove from rimu and treated with organoil to bring out the colour, then finished with polyeurathane to waterproof. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BK Posted May 21, 2008 Report Share Posted May 21, 2008 Any timber will move with the heat from a tank. The poly will not seal a 100% so will still move and once the water gets in the poly will start to age and will need to be cleaned off and re coated. An oil finish is good as you can just put another coat on. As said before the more coat s the better and with more coat you get better protection from water damage. I wood say use the oil, the brand that Allan says is good enough for kids to eat off so hopefully ok if any water drips off. I'm a sales rep for a timber company that use to sell about 70% of the Rimu flooring used in NZ and we had more problems with poly than anything else. Timber will discolour no amatter what you do. Rimu is a great timber when you cut it but but will move and discolour over time. Buy the way silky oak is not an oak but a gum, same with Vic Ash not an ash but a gum tree. Nothing wroung with gum but you can ask for more money if its oak or ash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DutchKiwiCowboy2 Posted May 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2008 I should have guessed being an Aussie wood. I only got my hands on it because it was left over from a demo day at Carba-Tec. They had a whole heap of trouble importing a container load of untreated timber for the demo and won't be doing it again so I was quite keen to have it as I'll probably never get to work with it again. It's actually quite nice to work with as it has a silky soft feeling when sanded. Ã probably will go for the oil. I started this thread because I wasn't sure how it would react when exposed to damp conditions or how long it would last. THANKS EVERYBODY!!!! Time to get to work again this weekend :bounce: :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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