wooden sink or bath finish

Hi Geoff,

How are things? There's a company very near to me in Enniskerry that make wooden bathtubs, albeit not turned. It's a pretty commercial operation, so I'm not sure whether they'd give away any of their 'trade secrets' especially as, according to their website, they have a patent on some aspect or the other of the construction, but you can find them along with any contact info on

was a turned wooden bathroom sink on display at the last Axminster show, complete with all fixtures and fittings. It looked very impressive, I must say. As for finish, I'd say it was lots and lots and lots (did I say lots?) of coats of some clear varnish, maybe something borrowed from the boating world?

i had thought of yaught varnish but apparently it may not take to well to hot water. i'll check their website and see what i can find. good to hear from you, hope you are both well.

You might experiment with a few coatings of epoxy. boatbuilders use it to saturate fiberglass cloth (which becomes transparent after the epoxy is applied). Remember, my free advice is worth every dime you paid for it. I would love to see the results when you get this completed and details if possible. Good luck, Carl McCarty

Try this page:

is Kleer Koat Epoxy table finish. I've used it on turned bowls, putit on a picnic table & it seems to be holding. It's a clear two partepoxy for table tops, the kind you see on bars where they put it overpennies or other small items. I've had great luck with it but makesure you read the instructions very closely. It costs about $45 to geta gallon of each the epoxy & hardener. if anything would stand up towhat you want, I think it would.Jim

Try West Systems Epoxy at

or System 3 epoxy at either one will provide you with awaterproof system for water tanks, boats, or bathtubs. Systems 3 has a UVresistant epoxy that I have used for outdoor water fountains. There areothers out there. I like System 3 but West Systems started the industry andis still up there at the top. Good luckHenry

thanks for the advice lads, epoxy seems to be the way to go - any clue on suppliers in uk.

Geoff, With only 388 posts on rcw today, I can waste bandwidth without guilt. Not to disagree or be disagreeable, but I wonder how much these various coatings over wood are for waterproofing. I know of many cypress troughs and oak kegs that havn't leaked. Wooden boats used to be glassed mostly for worm protection not for waterproofing. Henry has forgotten more about leaks than I ever knew, but at least for strip canoes the West System seems as much for making a strong monolithic hull as for waterproofing. That said, I'd use epoxy too. :)

Turn to Safety, Arch Fortiter

With a sink, while I'd be concerned about leakage, I'd be just as concerned about cleaning and movement. I would hope that an epoxy would seal the wood at one humidity and then allow clean up of all the scrunge that sinks seem to accumulate. It could be formed to catch fittings, too. Years of soaps & cleansers would probably be pretty hard on any wood. It's not like a salad bowl where an adult can control the maintenance & use - at least in my house.

Jim