Wood finish for bathroom?

Polyurethane. I have a vanity and the window trim of both my bathrooms finished with poly and they are 33 years old and in good condition.

If you want paint, I'd go with an oil base if you can find it.

Benjamin Moore Impervo.

Dave in Houston

Most finishes will work well in a bathroom if:

My favorite finish is Waterlox and it's easy to apply. I prefer rubbing it on, but it can be brushed or sprayed.

Varnish (brush or can) , lacquer (from a can), or (if you must) poly could be used. I'd avoid shellac with or without wax because neither is a good water barrier.

Be sure to seal the cut ends of trim boards before putting them up. And finish all sides, even those which are hidden, for best protection.

Question: Why do you want to store towels up where the moisture is the highest? People who take long, steamy showers could put too much moisture into them if they didn't use the fan.

-- Education should provide the tools for a widening and deepening of life, for increased appreciation of all one sees or experiences. It should equip a person to live life well, to understand what is happening around him, for to live life well one must live life with awareness. -- Louis L'Amour

The usual wood finishes all do well in a bathroom, with the possible exception of (1) no finish (OK for redwood or cedar, but condensation will occur and maple or oak will spalt) or (2) shellac (which can turn milky, i.e. shows water spots).

Regardless of finish, DO NOT rely on flakeboard or MDF materials for any kind of shelf. Even if you like the idea of flipping it when it sags, that'll get old, fast.

I'll add that oil based poly is preferable to water based poly in that environment.

" snipped-for-privacy@risky-biz.com" wrote in news:c58b843e-3be5-426f- snipped-for-privacy@j28g2000vbp.googlegroups.com:

I polyurethaned a shelf unit that hangs on the wall over the toilet. Made of leftover ash. Made a quarter inch depression in 1 shelf for the jar with cotton balls, to prevent the jar from sliding off and breaking when landing on the toilet.

Stain and poly are their own punishment.

-- The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools. --Herbert Spencer

Just out of curiosity, Han, may I ask why you keep cotton balls on a shelf over the terlit?

-- Education is when you read the fine print. Experience is what you get if you don't. -- Pete Seeger

There's really no such thing as "oil based" or "water based" polyurethane. The base is isocyanate, the solvent is primarily a carrier.

I'd also consider a precatalyzed lacquer--M.L. Campbell's Magnamax brushes well and once it cures it's resistant to just about everything.

LOL!!

I was inspired by the Impervo thread, don'tcha know?

-- Education is when you read the fine print. Experience is what you get if you don't. -- Pete Seeger

Thanks to all for the advice. Finishing the unseen edges (I'd probably have forgotten the back edges) sounds like a particularly good tip.

Small house, mostly. But that is certainly a point to consider.

In higher-moisture areas, coating every surface is a good idea.

Get a good, quiet, high-volume fan and make sure it's used. It shouldn't be a problem unless you have the chronic steamdweller who doesn't like fans and does like closed doors.

-- Education is when you read the fine print. Experience is what you get if you don't. -- Pete Seeger

More importantly, make sure the "exhaust" fan actually exhausts the air to the outside. I would venture a guess that at least 1/2 of the exhaust fans put in new construction don't exhaust. All they do is irrigate the mold growing in the insulation above them.

They should replace those things with a speaker that simply makes a fan noise, because that's all most of them do, anyway. People like to have the noise to give the illusion that no one hears them farting away, when in fact, you can hear that stuff just fine in the living room. :-)

Larry Jaques wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Well, to enlighten the un#$@%^&, uhhum, and it does pain me to have to confess this, it is because the bathroom doesn't have another place for them to hide in. Unless remodeled to the nth degree, the simple homes here in Radburn dating from ~1929 are quite spartan.

I believe you. Old houses don't have the storage our new ones do. Clutterbugs like me couldn't live in them. ;)

Here's one help for you, should you decide you like cutting holes in walls:

-- Education is when you read the fine print. Experience is what you get if you don't. -- Pete Seeger

Larry Jaques wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

I've thought about something like that last link. But not before we've decided on how and whether to remodel the bathroom.