Would two coats of latex house paint be sufficient to seal green wood or do I have to use the wax emulsion stuff? I can get latex paint for a few dollars per gallon, the wax emulsion stuff often sells for tens of dollars per gallon. If I have to use the wax emulsion, where can I get the best price?
I know from bitter experience that latex paint does not work. So I have started buying Anchorseal in 5 gallon pails from here:
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Family business, great to deal with and their product is the best. Works out to about $14 a gallon and it goes a long long way. So how much is your wood worth? I am just a really satisfied customer and have no other connection with UCC
Neal Get the Anchorseal. Latex paint brathes too fast, is too much of a hassle to remove if it soaks in , and is genreally not made for the task. The best price for Anchorseal that I have found is from the manufacturer. They are basically a wholesaler, dealing mostly with high end lumber mills. They are quite generous in dealing with us "little guys" buying 1 and 5 gallon buckets. They ship quickly and well. I expect here in Nova Scotia to have my order filled in a week or less.
I buy Anchorseal in the 5 gallon pail. Use it. The wood you save will pay for it in short order. If you belong to a turning club, share the cost. A gallon goes a long way. Dan
You already got the lowdown, and I agree, get the anchorseal.
However if you don't have to keep the wood to long from drying out and the size lets you, than you can use a plastic bag on the ends, wrap a string/tape or rubber band around to keep it tight, works for me.
You might get some fungus starting to grow on the ends if you keep it longer this way, but that will be turned away or can be sawn off when using the wood, never bothered me any.
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Have fun and take care Leo Van Der Loo
neal k> Would two coats of latex house paint be sufficient to seal green wood or
Yep, blocking the easy way out is all you need to do. Cardboard tacked to the ends, plastic, my personal favorite is a leaning slab packed with chainsaw shavings. Idea is to slow the loss from the surface to something that can be replaced from the inside to equalize. Just as in other things in this world, it's "diversity" (in moisture content) that tears things apart.
I've had decent luck with leftover latex paint. HOWEVER: I really slather it on, I re-coat it every 6 months or so, and I don't do a whole lot of air drying.....
I've done everything from beech, pine, oak, cherry, and a bunch of odd residential type woods (lilac, mulberry, apple... etc) with good luck. I have also used leftover white or yellow glue thinned down with water (50% mixture) with good results......
If I was actually buying a product to seal the ends, I'd probably go with one of the things meant for sealing wet wood.. I just happen to be able to get old paint for free, and now and then I have a gallon of glue that starts gelling....
As the others have pointed out, latex paint does not really work well for sealing log ends. It may work in a pinch, for a short period, but do not trust it for long term storage. One reason latex does not work well, is that is doesn't really have a lot of ability to move without cracking. If you smear some latex paint on glass and let it dry and then remove it with a razor blade, you will see that it cracks very easily when stretched. As the wood continues to dry, the movement causes the latex paint to form micro fissures. Air is exposed to these tiny fissures and the exposed wood below the failed surface coating, causing them to grow larger and deeper.
Cold wax log sealers like Anchorseal are paraffin, or microcrystalline based emulsions that dry, forming a flexible, yet vapour permeable membrane that is much more resistant to movement than latex paint. As the others have also pointed out, buying direct from the manufacturer can save you quite a bit over buying from a reseller. Also, if you belong to a local turning club, check with them as many purchase the larger 55 gallon drums and sell the emulsion to members at cost. When purchased this way, the cost per gallon is quite low, around $5-7.00 per gallon if my memory is correct.
Here are a few "on the cheap" ways to temporarily keep the log sections form checking, depending on the size of the section these may or may not be feasible... Store in plastic bags, in a tank of water, use trash bags over the endgrain sections secured with duct tape. Good luck to you and best wishes in all of your woodturning endeavours!
Wax allows transit of water too, though I'm still pondering how "flexible" and "resistant to movement" are related. Latex doesn't carry as well into the endgrain nor have the "bulk", so it lacks the roots and excels in flexibility, the reason it's used in paint, but oil primers suggested. One might thin coat one to gain better roots or use the designated primer, but coat two would still be required.
Apologies in advance if I was unclear ... Since lots of posters dislike anything but short answers, it can be a challenge at times to be concise on complicated issues. I've been hammered before for long answers, so I'm a wee bit gun shy. :-0
Cured wax emulsions remain vapour permeable, allowing moisture vapour to pass through, albeit at a greatly reduced rate. Wax emulsion sealers are specifically formulated to control the rate of moisture loss in green timber, by forming a durable wax membrane between the exposed end/side grain and the surrounding ambient atmosphere.
Think of it like this... A freshly sawn endgrain section is like on open super-highway. Moisture vapour can move freely out of the log as there is nothing to hinder its natural movement. (Let's assume no environmental, or other controls for sake of discussion) When a endgrain sealer is added to the exposed endgrain surface, it's like a speed limit has been added on the super-highway. Moisture vapour can still move out, but at a greatly reduced rate.
The goal is not to prevent moisture vapour from moving through the wax coating, but instead to retard the rate of moisture evaporation, thereby helping to prevent steep moisture gradients from forming and reducing subsequent drying defects like end grain checking and warping. It's a common misconception that end grain sealers *stop, or prevent* moisture loss through the cured coating, this is incorrect. They simply limit the loss, but do not and can not prevent the loss of moisture vapour.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Take care and all the best to you and yours!
Steve, I understand what you are saying and agee that there are no definites in this, but everything is a shade of gray. Anchorseal is a great product. Besides slathering on two coats a day apart, I also coat the last 2-3" of the log all around on each end. I feel it helps to prevent checking, which is just another exit path for rapid moisture loss.
Agreed, I use Anchorseal all the time. It seems that you may think I do not like, or use Anchorseal? I was simply trying to explain the chemistry and function of wax emulsions and to help illuminate the subject of exactly how they work. Take care and best wishes.
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