Wooden Workbench - Varnish or Oil?

Hello, What can I use to protect my greenhouse wooden workbench from rotting?

I was thinking of varnishing it but thought the heat might make it give off chemicals which could harm whatâ??s growing inside.

I was thinking about using wood oil.


Whats safe to use?


Thankyou

djrock

 

djrock, is it really rot resistance you need, or more something to keep it looking nice.

I dont think varnish would be good for no other reason than its a bit OTT for a greenhouse bench.

What about that water based fence treatment that you can get, useless for protecting a fence but might be OK for making a greenhouse bench look nice.

 

As Pete says varnish is a bit OTT (it will also take ages to apply as you'll need at least three coats). Oils might poison your plants. I used a water based fence treatment on my staging and it has worked just fine so far.

 

I used ronseal on the picnic table, after 3-4 years it looks like it needs another coat.
Water based acrylic paint is pretty tough but you`d lose the wood with that :wink:

 

Hello,

Not so much rot resistance more to seal the bit of chipboard i used for the bottom shelf. Would water based wood glue be ok?

So water based stuff is ok to use. Avoid varnish and oil.

Thankyou

djrock

 

I think chipboard will swell up and delaminate in a hot and humid greenhouse even if its coated with something. The glue they use in the manufacturing process isnt waterproof, so it may be worth to replacing the chipboard shelf with timber laths or something similar

 

Ahh, so chipboard has reared its ugly head.:D
As Hex says not good if its going to get wet, and probably nothing will seal it sufficiently if its going to get wet on a daily basis.
This is where I would say you need an oil based coating, but it would seem a better idea to replace it with exterior ply if possible.


If not, give it a coat of sadolin, varnish or even paint it, and be prepared to either recoat regularly or replace when it becomes swollen.

 

Chipboard wont last 5 mins in the humidity of a greenhouse.

 

Hi, Yep I should have bought exterior ply but I would have needed some pine boards to strengthen it and chipboard was cheaper and thinker. Well I will see whats the best way to seal it and if it does swell then lessen learnt and will get exterior ply.

I might nip out to my local Block & Quayle store and price some exterior ply and some pine boards.


Thankyou :gnthb:

djrock

 

Why do you need pine boards as well.
You can get exterior ply in as many differing thickness's as chipboard.

Agreed it is more expensive, but look around and you can get cheaper grades, ie. shuttering ply just as an example.
Probably a local timber yard would be more helpful than B&Q.

 

Dude, if you don't really want to spend any more money and you have some exterior gloss handy then try the following.

If you can take the shelf out then do so and dry it in the house. Paint it with your gloss preferably with undercoat if you have some handy. This will certainly help. What have you got to loose.

Chipboard is ok if it is kept in a dry environment just like mdf. Ply would definately be better as its a very stable material because of its construction(each layer glued to the next with its grain rotated by 90deg).

 

no,no,no, would you use chipboard in your bathroom,no
would use you mdf in your bathroom, no, don't be silly, go
and get some exterior plywood or board's as pete said
i'm a decorator so all i'm saying is yes sadolin, varnish,
any wood preservative will do
, as long as it's coated every year or so, but not on
woodchip, or mdf, this will just fall apart.

 

I am not that stupid!!! Well its too late the chipboard has been cut and fitted. When it falls apart it will get replaced with ext ply.


djrock

 

vectra, you can actually get exterior MDF, along with moisture resistant.

Not that I would recommend them outside, but moisture resistant would be Ok in a bathroom as long as its properly sealed.