Finishing for bathroom vanity
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Welcome! / Forums / General Woodworking Discussions / Finishing / Finishing for bathroom vanity
Tagged: Water and steam resistant finish
I would like to make some pieces for my bathroom such as towel cabinets and a vanity. I normally stick to finishes like shellac, tung oil, Rubio Monocoat, but I’m afraid this use case needs some extra water resistance. What finishes do you all recommend for a piece that will receive lots of steam like in a bathroom? Is there certain wood species that lends itself well to this application?
I use epifanes varnish for anything involving water. They have a version that doesn’t have UV blockers for indoor work so is doesn’t have the yellow cast most spar varnishes have.
Epiphanies has a very high solids ratio.
And it is renewable, unlike poly varnishes.
Christian Becksvoort shows how to use it as a wiping varnish mixing it 50-50 with tried and true linseed oil.
Works well on things like tables and desktops, also.
The downside is it’s a bit spendy, but worth it.
In terms of wood species, if you find yourself in accommodating parts of the world, black locust, cypress, ironwood, juniper and cedar are known for being rot resistant. I’ve used cedar (less costly than the alternatives) for multiple outdoor applications and have yet to see any issues. Oddly (for uneducated me, at least), rot resistant does not necessarily equal hard (wood). Cedar is very soft and can be easily marred with a fingernail while ironwood is… like iron.